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In the past 40 years how many countries has the US invaded and how many has China?

NemoNobody 2y ago
That is the US role in the world - we are the Hegemon, it is what we must do to remain the Hegemon. China wants to be the Hegemon but they can't get there as long as we are. China wants to change the entire ordering of the world - that is a much bigger deal than the US invading Iraq or Afghanistan.
casenmgreen 2y ago
China historically has been ruled by committee and has been inward-looking. China is now a dictatorship. Dictatorships sooner or later, if they think they can get away with it, invade their neighbours. When you see a dictatorship which is under no threat engaging in a massive military build-up, invasion is on the way.
- whimsicalism 2y ago
  the demise of China’s rule by committee has been vastly overstated in the West imo. i wonder about this ‘dictatorship inevitably goes to war’ - a glance at WW2 and you could be forgiven for concluding the exact opposite re: the Iberian peninsula
  - casenmgreen 2y ago
    > dictatorship inevitably goes to war But that's not what I wrote. I may be completely wrong, but what I think is that a dictatorship will, sooner or later, go to war if it thinks it can win. So if you have say Russia next door, but you're strong enough Russia think it can't win, you do not get invaded.
AnonymousPlanet 2y ago
How many countries were invaded to be made part of the invading country? That is the most crucial aspect of invasion: the ultimate goal of it.
eximius 2y ago
The US government is a meandering blob of racoons in a trenchcoat. Occasionally a hand will _do_ evil but even odds whether they realize it or meant it. Partially depends on which particular raccoon is where. Some of the racoons are evil. China is actively directed by a small group of well coordinated, evil raccoons. See, you know, the constant genocide.
- casenmgreen 2y ago
  Yes. This is really exactly my take, too. The US Government has done incredibly stupid and catastrophically foolish and harmful things - being hoodwinked into Vietnam by the French, for example - but the Government is not inherently, actually evil, in any way, shape or form. This is not the case for China.
  - hooverd 2y ago
    The US govt has no agency, got it.
    - casenmgreen 2y ago
      In all things, there are factors which encourage, and factors which discourage, and in the end, you get what you get. The French worked as hard as possible to get American military support in Vietnam so they could remain the colonial power. They did a very good job of it. It was all an appalling tragedy. All the Vietnamese wanted was independence, and in particular from the appalling misrule of the French.
  - cplusplus6382 2y ago
    Noam Chomsky would like a word and he wrote a book specifically addressing this propaganda ridden argument: The Myth of American Idealism https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-...
    - 2y ago
graemep 2y ago
There is a lot wrong with the US, and I (not American BTW) will criticise it quite freely and frequently BUT comparing the US to China is just ridiculous. What the US does can be criticised by its citizens, and protested. People can be punished. Wrongdoing can be exposed. Plenty of people in the US criticise the invasion of Iraq. I doubt many Chinese will find it safe to criticise the occupation of Tibet. Democracies can and do bad stuff, but internal opposition and accountability limit it, and often but an end to it.
- whimsicalism 2y ago
  yes the US has better rule of law and is an actual democracy, for sure. but China does not seem to be so bad by the standards that we hold our own allies to, so to me it is unclear why we have become locked into this neo cold war so quickly. some of our allies make china look like a saint in comparison
  - brookst 2y ago
    Which of our allies make China look like a saint?
    - whimsicalism 2y ago
      saudi arabia
    - dttze 2y ago
      Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza, has terror bombed Lebanon, and is stealing land in Syria for Greater Israel.
      - brookst 2y ago
        I agree. But you think that makes China’s treatment of the Uyghurs look saintly? Really? Saintly?
    - anramon 2y ago
      Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Thailand, Vietnam. That's not counting those relations that aren't close nor adversarial. The only authoritarian regimes not allied, nor neutral, with the US are Cuba, Iran, NK, Russia and Venezuela. It's not present day but let's not forget the series of military genocidal dictarships supported, founded and allied by the US in south america in the second half of 20th century.
asdff 2y ago
The americans had their own justifications for those actions that were supporter by a coalition of nations, and none of that was to conquer territory. China on the other hand is flatly trying to conquer territory and limit the freedoms of the people who live there afterwards. They are, in fact, the bad guys here.
- popcalc 2y ago
  >conquer territory It's about keeping western capital interests in line, stopping developing nations from nationalizing key resources etc. Bolivia is a good example of a country that has persisted against it.

That is the US role in the world - we are the Hegemon, it is what we must do to remain the Hegemon. China wants to be the Hegemon but they can't get there as long as we are. China wants to change the entire ordering of the world - that is a much bigger deal than the US invading Iraq or Afghanistan.

casenmgreen 2y ago

China historically has been ruled by committee and has been inward-looking. China is now a dictatorship. Dictatorships sooner or later, if they think they can get away with it, invade their neighbours. When you see a dictatorship which is under no threat engaging in a massive military build-up, invasion is on the way.

whimsicalism 2y ago
the demise of China’s rule by committee has been vastly overstated in the West imo. i wonder about this ‘dictatorship inevitably goes to war’ - a glance at WW2 and you could be forgiven for concluding the exact opposite re: the Iberian peninsula
- casenmgreen 2y ago
  > dictatorship inevitably goes to war But that's not what I wrote. I may be completely wrong, but what I think is that a dictatorship will, sooner or later, go to war if it thinks it can win. So if you have say Russia next door, but you're strong enough Russia think it can't win, you do not get invaded.

AnonymousPlanet 2y ago

How many countries were invaded to be made part of the invading country? That is the most crucial aspect of invasion: the ultimate goal of it.

eximius 2y ago

The US government is a meandering blob of racoons in a trenchcoat. Occasionally a hand will _do_ evil but even odds whether they realize it or meant it. Partially depends on which particular raccoon is where. Some of the racoons are evil. China is actively directed by a small group of well coordinated, evil raccoons. See, you know, the constant genocide.

casenmgreen 2y ago
Yes. This is really exactly my take, too. The US Government has done incredibly stupid and catastrophically foolish and harmful things - being hoodwinked into Vietnam by the French, for example - but the Government is not inherently, actually evil, in any way, shape or form. This is not the case for China.
- hooverd 2y ago
  The US govt has no agency, got it.
  - casenmgreen 2y ago
    In all things, there are factors which encourage, and factors which discourage, and in the end, you get what you get. The French worked as hard as possible to get American military support in Vietnam so they could remain the colonial power. They did a very good job of it. It was all an appalling tragedy. All the Vietnamese wanted was independence, and in particular from the appalling misrule of the French.
- cplusplus6382 2y ago
  Noam Chomsky would like a word and he wrote a book specifically addressing this propaganda ridden argument: The Myth of American Idealism https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-...
  - 2y ago

graemep 2y ago

There is a lot wrong with the US, and I (not American BTW) will criticise it quite freely and frequently BUT comparing the US to China is just ridiculous. What the US does can be criticised by its citizens, and protested. People can be punished. Wrongdoing can be exposed. Plenty of people in the US criticise the invasion of Iraq. I doubt many Chinese will find it safe to criticise the occupation of Tibet. Democracies can and do bad stuff, but internal opposition and accountability limit it, and often but an end to it.

whimsicalism 2y ago
yes the US has better rule of law and is an actual democracy, for sure. but China does not seem to be so bad by the standards that we hold our own allies to, so to me it is unclear why we have become locked into this neo cold war so quickly. some of our allies make china look like a saint in comparison
- brookst 2y ago
  Which of our allies make China look like a saint?
  - whimsicalism 2y ago
    saudi arabia
  - dttze 2y ago
    Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza, has terror bombed Lebanon, and is stealing land in Syria for Greater Israel.
    - brookst 2y ago
      I agree. But you think that makes China’s treatment of the Uyghurs look saintly? Really? Saintly?
  - anramon 2y ago
    Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Thailand, Vietnam. That's not counting those relations that aren't close nor adversarial. The only authoritarian regimes not allied, nor neutral, with the US are Cuba, Iran, NK, Russia and Venezuela. It's not present day but let's not forget the series of military genocidal dictarships supported, founded and allied by the US in south america in the second half of 20th century.

asdff 2y ago

The americans had their own justifications for those actions that were supporter by a coalition of nations, and none of that was to conquer territory. China on the other hand is flatly trying to conquer territory and limit the freedoms of the people who live there afterwards. They are, in fact, the bad guys here.

popcalc 2y ago
>conquer territory It's about keeping western capital interests in line, stopping developing nations from nationalizing key resources etc. Bolivia is a good example of a country that has persisted against it.