> "Will these guys be around to support me in 25-40 years?" That has never really been a question for the US in the last 75 years. From the POV of the time? Su

> "Will these guys be around to support me in 25-40 years?" That has never really been a question for the US in the last 75 years. From the POV of the time? Sure, we can see with the benefit of hindsight that even 40 years was true up until at least 1985, but did people plan that far ahead at the time? 25 years, sure, I think that was true for most of it, with only a handful of exceptions like France and the UK being upset about what happened in response to their actions in the Suez Crisis. IMO correct call by USA there, and I say that as a British citizen by birth, but still means "can we rely on them?" resolves "no", and this loss of de facto independence in what they could do explains much of British foreign policy since then.