As for Taiwan, we could let them fight for themselves, which they are highly capable of doing. We give them intelligence help only. Taking a highly fortified island is probably the most difficult military operation there is. Taiwan has a powerful airforce that can match mainland China's. They have a modern navy and missles that can sink a naval invasion. Does China want to lose the core of their military on this little island? I say no, not until they have built up a much bigger military machine.
If N. Korea decides to plunge into a bloody battle with the South they will take massive losses this time around, because the South is well prepared for them. We give S. Korea air support and intel. and the North invades in vain. I see some give and take by both sides, back and forth, but essentially a standoff, with the North taking more serious losses than they bargained for. There would be no POW's, only dead bodies everywhere.
I can see Iran nuking Israel if the U.S. and Israel don't act soon to set Iran back another ten years, but then Iran will cease to exist and there is NOBODY left in the middle east to worry about. If Israel did get nuked I don't think anybody would be in a hurry to rush in and get irradiated, so I don't understand why Syria and Egypt would suddenly rush into a nuclear-smoldering Israel, because they too would get nuked and they are not huge nations (like China), that could afford to be hit with several nukes.
Right now what is going on is a whole lot of bluff and bluster by Iran and to a lesser degree, Russia. I have learned a valuable lesson about Islam; they are essentially cowards who will recruit other men to go die for them, while their leaders themselves hide like quivering rats in filthy caves. The leaders and mullahs of Iran do not want to get fried for their faith, they want other muslims to do it for them. But when you've got the nuclear arsenal of the U.S. bearing down on you, then they all die.
So I say Iran will not nuke anybody at this time, but they eventually will if they are allowed to continue on with their plans. But it probably won't be a missle strike against Isreal where they will be massively retaliated against. Iran will likely do it the cowardly way, (possibly against the U.S.), THROUGH SELLING THEIR NUKES TO TERRORISTS so they can do the job for them. This is the way of the "brave" leaders of the 'mujahadeen'. They are just too weak and too cowardly to confront the U.S. in a nuclear exchange.
Anyway, I place my trust in God. When the Soviet Union was threatening us they had several "mysterious" nuclear disasters within their military. The hand of God will decide the fate of the world; so the most important thing for all of us to do is PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY. God will not let His people be defeated by evil, if, that is, we show Him that we really are His people.
And God has stated in his instruction manual that he will not let his creation, the earth, be destroyed. We may play at the peripheral all we like, but the owner makes the rules.
Before I accept any of these scenarios I need to know what Russia benefits from by jumping into the fray on Iran's side
Good point. What does Russia gain? They would be better off sitting the war out, or even joining on the side of the U.S. and Israel. The Cold War has proved that the Russians are not suicidal.
I need to know why China would decide to nuke a Western nation.
China may use our preoccupation with a large Middle East war to grab Taiwan. If we don't get involved and let Taiwan fight for themselves, China has little reason to nuke us. But if we do get involved militarily in Taiwan's defense, then we risk a nuclear exchange with China.
North [Korea] invades in vain. North Korea may think they have good chance of winning with the U.S. preoccupied elsewhere. And who knows how crazy Kim Jong Il might be. Is South Korea adequately prepared for a North Korean invasion? Or will additional force from the U.S. and possibly Japan be required?
I can see Iran nuking Israel if the U.S. and Israel don't act soon to set Iran back another ten years
Agreed. But what if Iran already has nukes, and Israel's missile defense doesn't intercept every single nuke?
Israel would certainly retaliate against Iran. But with Israel now actively involved in the war, I can easily see Syria and other Muslim nations joining the fray. Would Pakistan become involved? I don't know. It would be better if Israel does not become involved and adopts a purely defensive posture. And let's hope and pray that their missile defense is 100% effective against an Iranian nuclear attack.
I don't understand why Syria and Egypt would suddenly rush into a nuclear-smoldering Israel
Syria and Egypt may declare war against Israel if Iran does so first. Their attacks may be limited to air and missile strikes if Iranian nukes get through. But, if Israel is not nuclear-smoldering, then they may attempt invasion. The question here is, how much risk will the Muslim world take to rid themselves of Israel once and for all?
I have learned a valuable lesson about Islam; they are essentially cowards who will recruit other men to go die for them, while their leaders themselves hide like quivering rats in filthy caves. The leaders and mullahs of Iran do not want to get fried for their faith, they want other muslims to do it for them.
That would suggest that giving a nuke to terrorists for detonation in Israel is their preferred option. But what if the U.S. attacks first to remove any nuclear capability? It's a catch-22. If we do nothing, terrorists detonate a nuke in Israel. If we attack Iran, whatever nuclear weapons they may already have will be on a use-it-or-lose-it trajectory towards Israel. Again, the question is, are the mullahs really that crazy?
The hand of God will decide the fate of the world; so the most important thing for all of us to do is PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY.
I'm in total agreement with you there.
"Taiwan has a powerful airforce that can match mainland China's. They have a modern navy and missles that can sink a naval invasion. Does China want to lose the core of their military on this little island? I say no, not until they have built up a much bigger military machine. "
But China could simply blockade Taiwan and try to starve them out.
According to www.hazegray.org Taiwan only has 2 diesel submarines (from the 1980s) in addition to 2 WW2 era subs. China has 12 Kilo class subs, 3+ Song class, and 1 SSBN as well as 5 SSN and around 40-50 obsolete Romeo/Ming class.
Of course, China's military could not stand up to ours, but they may be waiting until we have a pacifist wimp like hillary in the white house to make their move.
Personally I, like you from what I understand from your post, am not too worried about North Korea or Iran or Syria, etc. They have mostly obsolete military equipment and not too much of that even. But more importantly, they can't really project power, and therefore are only a regional threat easily dealt with.
Only countries that are able to claim world power status and can serve as a focal point for weaker anti-american nations to rally behind are really a threat to the United States.
For example, during the Cold War, Russia was a huge threat to the US while Syria, Nicaragua, Angola, Libya, etc were not, because they had relatively weak militaries, no manufacturing capability, and were small and could only cause trouble with their nieghbors.
Today, the only countries that I can see rising to fill the role of the Soviet Union (assuming that Russia remains weak) as an anti-american superpower are China, or possibly India.
Brazil and Indonesia would also like to be World Powers, but they are just dreaming, they are even weaker than Iran, etc.
South Africa too has ambitions but is even behind Indonesia or Syria.
But an alliance similar to what happened in Jeff's excellent Dragon Furies Series of China, Russia, India,Iran, Cuba, Sudan, Pakistan, Syria, Libya, North Korea, etc etc etc would pose a formidable threat to the US.
Personally I believe Russia would side with us rather than with an anti-US alliance.
"Anyway, I place my trust in God. When the Soviet Union was threatening us they had several "mysterious" nuclear disasters within their military. The hand of God will decide the fate of the world; so the most important thing for all of us to do is PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY. God will not let His people be defeated by evil, if, that is, we show Him that we really are His people."
Amen, Amen, what you say is true. God will protect us.