By what yardstick would we threaten war for the independence of Taiwan but continue to tolerate 60 years of totalitarian repression in Cuba, 90 miles away?
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Yardstick, Pat? Oh so quaint.
If you are arguing on moral grounds, then it is a holier-than-thou game, which is a loser and not worth the energy to play. Plus, its not the US making the threats, its the CCP. Labeling the US response a ‘threat’ is to obfuscate the point and change the subject - something you are good at Pat.
However, if Cuba were sunk in its entirety over night, it would be no loss to the US. Taiwan is a different matter.
Taiwan is the primary sources for the world’s most advanced computer chips in quantity - in case you missed it, there is currently a shortage due to demand: can you imagine what that shortage would look like should the CCP be in charge?
Taiwan controls the shipping lanes in the South China Sea, through which the bulk of the world’s shipping passes. Do you want to hand that over to the CCP also? Do you like looking at empty store shelves? One would think you would have tired of that sight during the early part of the CCP virus, but I guess not.
What’s an island or two between friends, right? Let them have Taiwan and they’ll want Japan; let them have those and they’ll want Australia - unless they take it before Japan. So what island would be next on their list which would not be worth going to war over? Hawaii? Then there’s California, which is a long way from DC, so would that be worth fighting for or not?
Just where do you draw the line, Pat?
We draw the line at military reality. The USN will be sunk before it gets close enough to defend Taiwan. This is what repeated wargames show.
This is not Okinawa 1945, where we could anchor vast fleets just offshore, while fending off kamikazes.
See above. I predict the CCP will gradually enforce a blockade. Invading Okinawa, 20X as big as Okinawa, would not be a cakewalk.