Posted on 01/13/2022 9:27:35 AM PST by Navy Patriot
Perhaps we should have been paying closer attention to all of Latin America over the past decades. Hard to do when there were so many banana republics that we supported for gringo business purposes. Nicaragua and Chile elected socialists. A siren call to those with nothing. It takes a strongman to rule down there.
Our allies are certainly wondering that.
Sooner or later they will act.
They better not or we’ll boycott the Olympics. /s
We would dislike the Russians meddling in Cuba for the same reason they dislike us doing the same on their border with Ukraine. The neocon uniparty foreign policy establishment is going to get a lot of people killed...again.
Russia doesn’t have the capability to project significant power to Cuba or Venezuela. And neither Cuba nor Venezuela have functional facilities in place to adequately host Russian forces.
The Russians will need to send construction teams ahead to build facilities and improve whatever airbases the locals let them use. Then they’ll have to transport everything they need from Russia to Cuba/Venezuela because neither country has anything useful let alone food or toilet paper. Then the matter becomes one of ongoing logistics to support these forces not to mention that the Cuban and Venezuelan governments will demand bribes from the Russians.
Were this threat made to me I’d respond by saying, “Go ahead. Let’s see you do it.”
The problem with uttering a threat like this is that it’s made from a position of weakness. Russia can no more afford to put men and weapons into the Caribbean than they can afford to put a man on the moon. And the moonshot would be easier.
You mean that early 19th century foreign policy concept that the Americas (new world) and Europe (old world) should not interfere in each others business?
Cool story bro...
Well, because we're not. They consider their "backyard" to be as far away as Germany. And for that matter, Russia already arms Venezuela, etc. They're the only reason why these countries haven't collapsed already. They keep the soldiers up and ready to put people down, even during the crisis a year or two ago in Venezuela due to oil prices.
Is Venezuela going to collapse soon? Is Cuba turning away from Communism?
It doesn't look like it's going to be quite like the old Cold War days, but who can say?
Yet. Germany didn't have the capability to do anything while the French were rubbing their noses in it in the 1920s, but we all know how that turned out.
Who’s to stop him?
Russia is a third world country, economically, and those countries that think that Russia is the answer to their economic (and other) problems, would soon find out that Russia is not interested in helping them out of economic disasters, but are only interested in expanding their wishes for empire building. Russia (Putin, in reality) just wants to rebuild the old USSR, when their military might was the only thing that kept the country together and its satellites in check.
Of course we can take the high ground. The Soviet Union you're talking about was a mass murdering criminal regime. Russia today is still a KGB/FSB state, with a super majority of its government posts and major industries under the direct control of former or current members of the intelligence service that has a long history of committing mass murder, that has cheated on every arms treaty it has ever signed, including on their nuclear missiles--which is why Trump left the INF treaty.
If the Russkies don't want us posting troops in Turkey or Germany or Poland, then they should stop obviously preparing for WW3, and should stop arming and supporting every communist and totalitarian regime on planet Earth from China and North Korea all the way to Iran and Cuba and Venezuela.
In geopolitics the country with the biggest stick can do whatever they want since there is no way to enforce International. Russia and China can whine and cry all they want that we’re in their part of the world, their spheres of influence if you will, but in the end there is really nothing they can do about it. The US has the biggest stick on the planet. Also, do you know why China has not attacked Tiawan? Because the internal honest military calculus they do tells them they would get their asses whipped. If not, they already would have attacked it. They understand the truth about the balance of power, meaning our military capabilities vs the CCP’s military capabilities are still totally in our favor. And remember, Chinese numerical superiority means bupkus in the real world of military conflict. Our Navy as poorly trained and maintained as it is compared to our Navy pre obama, is still way more technologically superior to China’s and Russia’s that both know the real score. This is the reason why Taiwan is still free and Japan has not been attacked. You can bet though, the moment the CCP’s military calculus tells them they can succeed, they will waste little time attack the US, Taiwan and Japan.
Of course the above is only true if China is being reasonable and truthful with itself. If Xi gets into a position where his status as CCP Chairman is threatened, and if he thinks attempting to invade Taiwan will protect him, then he will attack Taiwan, and the US and Japan too. Personal survival is the only thing a communist clown like Xi and his fellow Politburo members really care about.
Should have said:
In geopolitics the country with the biggest stick can do whatever they want since there is no way to enforce International Law.
Maybe Russian troops can be ready and be on call the next time Democrats foment more riots in this country.
Speaking of the Olympics, I think things will heat up shortly after they are over. We could find ourselves facing multiple crises come springtime. JMHO
Cuba? Lol. They didn’t learn their lesson the first time, apparently.
Russia has been in Venezuela for a long time.
Cuba? doubtful, what a bunch of jokers on the world stage.
Yes, thats why we intervened when Russia tried to set up nuke missiles in Cuba.
So then why have Russia and China not built military bases on our side of the Pacific and Atlantic?
Because they are steeped in history, and they know the Monroe Doctrine is still in effect, and even if the Big Guy doesn’t want to enforce it now, the next President will.
Doh.
We can probably handle Russia or China separately, but what about both simultaneously? Bear in mind we are not doing well in the hypersonic weapons area and that Russia has developed some truly devastating weapons.
Concurrent conflicts could become very problematic, especially for a government with very weak leadership in a country beset with numerous internal problems and divisons.
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