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The US, or US led coalitions, won Gulf War 1, Gulf War 2, and Afghanistan. Militarily they triumphed. I have no doubt the US military is capable of winning wars.
However, the US lost the subsequent occupation, peace and rebuilding. They are terrible at that. I have no doubt they could fail at martial law within the continental US.
The purpose of the US-Islamist war was to prevent the formation of a caliphate. If allowed to form, the caliphate would have been stronger that any single country in that region.
In that respect, the US succeeded. And was succeeding in Afghanistan, for that matter.
There was never an attempt at occupation in the traditional sense. No country was going to "surrender" and the US was never going to rule any of those countries.
Maybe Russia should consult the US generals who speak about the war. You know the group that hasn't won a war in 50 years.
The Russian generals would give their right testicles to have the sort of strategic and logistical strength that enabled the 2003 invasion of Iraq, for instance. I was against it - it was futile, wrong-headed and reprehensible - but it was competent.
Russia? - can't take a city the size of Pawtucket that's 40 miles or so from their own border.
There's a good chance it will as it is bound to be an epic battle.
Ukrainians are blowing up things in Crimea as if preparing for an attack there. Crimea is the prize for Putin. Now that Ukraine is getting MiG-29s, longer-range missiles, etc., going for Crimea is certainly a possibility.
But heading across to the Sea of Azov, cutting off the land supply routes, then destroying the Kerch bridge means they could focus on the Donbas, lay siege to Crimea, and get to it in the by and by.
Russian military has to defend both Crimea and the Donbas. Since they've been in both for 9 years now, they are likely prepared to do so.
The question is do they divide their forces, or focus them on one area.
Most relevant to Russian fears would be the 1917 October Revolution as they were losing men to the Germans in WWI.
Exactly. Soldiers, fed up with being fed into a pointless meat grinder, shot their officers and went home. Except for a sizable number who first went to the seat of government to settle a a score. And brought their guns.
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