Comments by "Alan Friesen" (@alanfriesen9837) on "No change to US’ one-China stand on Taiwan, Blinken tells Wang Yi on G20 sidelines in Rome" video.

  1.  @ebonymaw8457  You have way to much confidence in our allies, but then again, the pretense was pretty absurd.
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  2.  @ebonymaw8457  The United States is stronger than either China or Russia, but our allies are not. In a genuine war setting Russia would have more war fighting capacity than any single country except for the United States and China. Europe might have a comparable war fighting capacity, but they'd have to come together in a way that they aren't now. It's not just about the economy. In a full on war money can be disregarded and Russia has one of the best situations for doing just that. What matters in the long run are human capital, industrial capacity and raw materials. Iran is weak when compared to the other world powers (USA, China, Russia, Europe), but they are not weaker than their neighbors. None of these countries (or Europe) are going to lose in their own backyard, much less in their own territory, the terrain advantage is too strong, unless two or more world powers gang up on them alone. Non world powers would play an appreciated but insignificant role.
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  3.  @ebonymaw8457  "There's just no way NATO's coming down from the outside my guy. Not in any conventional war anyway..." 100% agree with that statement. NATO is composed of two global powers and Britain, Canada, and Turkey. Russia is one global power and nobody. If Russia tries to invade NATO, they will lose. The question is, could NATO invade Russia. I think the answer is yes, if they act in concert, because two global powers is greater than one global power. But if we're just talking about Europe, or just the United States, then I think the answer is no. Iran is definitely stronger than Saudi Arabia. Turkey is a harder call. Turkey is definitely stronger as part of NATO, but I think by itself that it's probably pretty close. Turkey has some better hardware, but Iran is less dependent on allies and it has more people. I don't think either could take the other in a fair fight. You are comparing "The West" to these individual countries and I think that that logic maybe losing its pertinence. NATO did not rally behind the United States in either Vietnam or Iraq. If the United States attacks somebody else, they will probably be on their own. The same is even more true of Turkey. Neither China, Russia, nor Iran are going to attack a NATO member unless they are attacked first, and all of them have particularly complex relations with Germany which complicates Europe's role in anything. I just don't see "The West" fighting a war in the future anymore.
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  4.  @samuellinchen5793  China's success has many fathers. Socialism is one, capitalism is another, history is a third. China has been well managed and it has taken advantage of its resources in recent decades. That's likely to continue for some time.
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  5.  @sangwoo9686  Because the United States patrolled the straits enforcing separation in 1950.
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