(03-07-2018 06:22 AM)EverRespect Wrote:  

(03-06-2018 10:08 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  There are three existential threats against the US--nuclear, cyber, and terror. Russia and China threaten us in at least two of those areas.
There are three world hot spots--Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the China Sea--each with its own would-be hegemon--Russia, Iran, and China, respectively.
Seems to me that an appropriate defense posture should be 1) to be ready for any of the existential threats (we aren't), 2) to contain any regional conflict arising in each of the trouble spots areas within the respective area (should be doable as long as we have a blue-water navy and neither Russia nor Iran nor China does), and 3) to make sure that our allies in each region maintain a balance of power with the would-be hegemon.

Not sure Iran has hegemony. The Saudis and the Turks might have something to say about that. They do appreciate us eliminating Saddam Hussein for them though.

Note that I said would-be hegemon. They don't but they want it. Their goal is recreation of the old Persian empire, from Istanbul to Kabul to Aden to Cairo. They changed their name from Persia to Iran in 1935. In Farsi Iran means basically "empire of the Aryan people." Note the date. It was a dog whistle to Hitler, "send us some tanks and some Messerschmidts and we will meet you at the Bosporus." That message is not lost on the Turks or the Arabs.