During that war... China had men... human wave attacks ... there was no parity in weapons. It is the same today... however today Iran has drones and missiles. It has embraced asymmetry and didn't even try conventional parity. That along with its geography provide a formidable challenge for any adversary or invaders. The onus is always on the invaders to achieve the set out goals. And prolonging the conflict was Iranian goal to get into a long-term slug fest. Iran will never invade another state regionally let alone on the other side of the world... so this is an imperial war by default. It's goals are imperial and it's geostategic goals are set in making the colonial project viable.... read "A Clean Break"...
en.wikipedia.org
The neocon project.
Yet, the US never directly attacked China. Again, goes to show that China had the means, be it political, military, or economic.
However, my argument for Iran is for before and after this fight. Iran, like every other country, has to fight once it has begun. But when it ends, I hope they can see what they need to do and get on with it so that this cannot be repeated again. IMO, their leadership realized this years before, hence the agreement with Obama.
You're suggesting a pragmatic approach, which is of course perfectly sensible and even ideal. The only caveat is that circumstances sometimes, even oftentimes, do not allow for an ideal entry into war. In my opinion, the single biggest strategic error leading into this current war was actually Hamas's October 2023 operation - it was doomed to fail and cause far reaching ramifications. Iran's hand was forced by the events that followed.
Yes but only if we see the past two years in isolation. Iran's military and political posture built over the previous decades, however righteous or justified it may be, ensured that it would be targeted. Tell me you didn't see it coming? It should not happen again.
The Gulfies are dictatorships whose relevance is oil and who were thrown to the wolves in this war. Pakistan is another dictatorship that has ruined itself engaging in proxy wars for the sake of Arabs/America. India isn't part of the region nor relevant to this particular discussion. Is that "reasonable success" for the people of the region ?
Yet Iranians and Pakistanis flock to these dictatorships and Pakistan stands as an accepted nuclear power without sanctions. What has Iran gained?
Chinese were providing support to Korea and Vietnam, just like they are now to Russia and Iran. They were not directly involved in those conflicts and neither were they subjected to 70 years of American attacks. The comparison is invalid.
This makes no sense at all.
Glad you are enjoying your arguments being shred to pieces.
Your arguments are valid only in a vacuum. They are bereft of real world inputs and outputs.
3 million Chinese soldiers served in Korea and 320,000 in Vietnam.
The History of the People's Republic of China, 1949-1976
The problem is American policy of coups and autocracies, which disturbs the political and social evolution of Mideast nations and keeps them devoted to serving American interests instead of their own. It makes it is impossible to "keep your head down and build" unless you throw off the American yoke itself.
Have you ever known any world power ever to be any different? Throwing off the American yoke? Pray do tell how and to what end, except in childish fantasies?
Why would they leave you alone if you keep giving it what it wants ? Isn't it more natural to expect the demands to simply keep increasing ?
As opposed to lose everything along with any chance to ever not have to? Fairly simple equation.
Witness the Mideast countries who have given America endless cheap energy, bought endless amount of its weapons, endless amount of its goods, endlessly kiss its rear and even sacrifices its children in American proxy wars, yet do you feel the US is satisfied and will now leave the region alone ?
Must be horrible that the Iranians, the Pakistanis, the Indians, and everyone else trots their way over there in droves. Had the Arabs had any shame or charecter their situation would have been much better.
"Not poking" is an option that exists only in your imagination. In the real world the below partial list illustrates the wars that the US has subjected the region to since WW2 :
1. Iran 2025
2. Iran 2024
3. Afghanistan 1980's to present
4. Pakistan 1980 to 1990, 2001 to 2021
5. Israel-Palestine 1948 to present
6. Iraq 1992 to present
7. Iran-Iraq war 1980 to 1988
8. Lebanon 1970s to present
9. Syria 2010 to 2024
10. Yemen 1990s to present.
11. Arab-Israel war 1967
12. Arab-Israel war 1973
Why did the US do it ? Because of oil, because of its war lobby, because of Israel, because of its policy of domination. It nothing to do with "poking the bear".
As I've explained repeatedly before, that is a childish understanding of global interests, power, and my argument. Feigning ignorance and repeating the same obtuse argument will not gain you anything. Also, half of that list is incorrect. Regardless, how many wars in Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Tanzania, Indonesia, Mongolia, Malaysia, Tajikistan, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain?
There's a clear disparity in knowledge, willful ignorance, loyalties, emotions, priorities, and biases between the two of us. I don't believe I can waste more time on this with you.
