[sigh]
People used to say the same things about the 3rd largest army in the world. And then Saddam invaded Kuwait.
True, but got...what for it?
If anything, his little excursion laid the platform for a globally noteworthy demonstration.
Soviets, and Sino-commies are philosophically different beings than Islamist Sand Fleas. And — even among Islamists — Saddam was his own brand of twisted.
I don’t believe a Soviet regime abutting Kuwait would have done what Saddam did under the conditions he thought were to his advantage.
Nor do I believe a Sino-communist regime in those same circumstance would have indulged the nationalistic hubris Saddam did.
The incident is worth bringing to the table for discussion’s sake, but the differences between the major players being considered is, in my opinion, invalidating.
That stated, I DO believe that, if Taiwan had no border between it and the PRC but a political one, we’d be speaking about Taiwan in the past tense; that band of seawater giving an operating lane to the U.S. Seventh Fleet is crucial.