The US: A Military Paradox?

The US:a Military Paradox?As schoolchildren in the 1960s we were taught that through nuclear weapons alone, the US could destroy the earth itself 3 times over and all life upon earth about 10 times over with a combination of atomic, hydrogen and neutron bombs then (and Now) in existence.This kind of information continued to junior high and high school students I believe most places until the demise of the old Soviet Union at which point everyone sort of mutually agreed to never talk about such things again. However, these weapons are still there and still functional and usable and well maintained. Any large country that attacked the mainland US could be dust within about 20 to 25 minutes with all life gone there for about 20,000 years or more. However, if any nation attacked Russia, England, Germany, China and a few other countries the country that attacked them likely wouldn't exist anymore either. So this is the main reason there haven't been any really big wars since World War II and it isn't likely there will be between large nations because of mutual extinction of whole continents likely.

But here comes the paradox. Then we factor in what the world tends to sees as failures in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, to be completely realistic one must also factor in Russia's failures and China's failures. The world sees Russia's (and the old Soviet Union's failures to be, Chernobyl, Chechnya, and Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Next, the world sees China's failures to be human rights for all Chinese, Islamic problems and Tibetan Buddhist problems. Any one of these problems could change the form of the Chinese government because of unhappy Chinese citizens all over China. However, the political systems of Russia and the US are less problematic and are likely to continue as they are. However, almost anything can and will happen in China during the next 100 years.

So, here is the US paradox. The US can destroy all life on earth many times over but can't stabilize Iraq and Afghanistan without completely bankrupting our country: The US.