Respectfully, you are terribly wrong. That’s why the US has the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons. That’s why the Soviet Empire collapsed. That’s why during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Soviet leader Kruschev backed off. That’s why the Chinese dare not invade Taiwan. The list is endless. And of course that’s why when Reagan assumed the Presidency, the mullah’s relented and released US hostages.
You could also claim that America "feared" the Soviets. That's why you didn't dare intervene in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. You haven't intervened in North Korea today because you "fear" China. You didn't intervene in Georgia in 2008 because you "feared" Russia.
The Soviet Union collapsed because they persisted in promoting an unsustainable economic model, not because they feared the US. The Chinese are smart enough not to make that mistake and they are patient enough to wait you out on Taiwan. (They are quietly forging deep commercial ties with Taiwan and in thirty years, Taiwan will become part of China all but in name).
The World has come a long way from the days of naked fear of Genghis Khan - like dictators and Stalin. The US cannot play that game and you know it. You had 150,000 soldiers in Iraq at one point, yet the Iraqi Government fears you less than they fear the Iranians and respects you even less. In fact, you look quite silly in Iraq - losing 5,000 soldiers yet losing key contracts to the Chinese and the Iraqi Government cannot wait to kick you out.
In March, 2008 (during the Bush presidency), Mahmoud Ahmedinejad spent 2 days in Iraq after boldly announcing before hand that he was coming. Contrast that to all senior American officials who had (and still have to) sneak in and out of Iraq.
The Chinese have seen how hard it was for you to subdue a nation of 24 million (weakened by a decade of sanctions) and they know that there is no way America can subdue China using conventional weapons. That leaves nuclear weapons, but the Chinese also have them.
I will rather die than fear America and many people on this planet feel that way. I respect America, but if you guys want to play the fear game, forget it. It will be your downfall.
As for Cuban missile crisis and Taiwan, those were sort of like chess moves between super powers who weren't actually looking for an all out nuclear war. The US feared the Chinese and Russians as much as they did the US.
You seem to forget that we folded on the IRBM sites in Turkey at the same time. There was no victory over the Cuban missile crisis.