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The armies of China’s T’ang Dynasty had earlier defeated the Arabs at Kashgar in 736. This defeat, along with the Muslim defeats at Tours in Transalpine Gaul and Akroinon in Anatolia, which happened at about the same time, temporarily halted the Muslim conquests, which for a time threatened to envelop the entire civilized world.

Eighth century Asia was an ever-shifting mosaic of different tribal and regional powers, fighting for trade rights, political power and/or religious hegemony. The era was characterized by a dizzying array of battles, alliances, double-crosses and betrayals.

This is the curse of being an Asian land power. You would think that we would have taken comfort in being a sea power and being isolated from all of that, but Nooooooo! our beloved global neocons thought they wanted to try to squander wealth and power fixing the middle east. And we don't even have a vital stake in it, much less do we comprehend it. Except the double crossing and betrayal part. Our neocons got that part down solid and screwed all of us over.

Now when we need to rely on maritime forces we are fixated on another useless land war on the Eurasian land mass.