Who really is and is not a true adversary of the USA/The 'West'

True Adversary:

North Korea
Saudi Arabia
ISIS / Muslim fundamentalism generally
Vatican / Christian fundementalism generally

Not Really an Adversary:
Russia
China
Syria

Debateable:
Iran
Somalia
Sudan
Venezuela
Mexico

Seems reasonable.

You can't really equate the USA with the West anymore, developed economies stretch all the way to Asia and Eastern Europe. Obama recognised this, Trump hasn't figured it out yet.

A true American defines himself by his enemies, it's the only way he knows.

Mentally, most of the US is still in the 20th Century.

The century where the US defeated Hitler and landed on the moon?

"US defeated Hitler"

Not just the US.

I've been to Asia and Eastern Europe.  They have some very nice zones/cities of success, but they still don't come close to the UK, Germany, France and Japan.  That said the countries I mentioned by name aint quite firing on all cylinders any more.  And I do expect China and India to dominate at some point.  Just not yet.  Eastern Europe is great for cheap alcohol and food and hot blond girls :-)  Western women are just too fat.  Hmmmm, I might have to reverse my theory after all.  Hot young blonds is a sign of better quality of life.  Damn, you might have me :-o

> "US defeated Hitler"
>
> Not just the US.

As an American I cringe every time some fat (usually Southerner) claims "we won dubbya dubbya two" or "we beat that Hitlor guy reeeeal good".

The fact is the US was fashionably late and had a great barrier of water to protect its homeland.

Vatican and Saudi Arabia? That's ridiculous!

> Vatican and Saudi Arabia? That's ridiculous!

Yes, I thought Catholicism was emancipated in the USA since Kennedy. But I guess that deep down it is still the fundamentalist protestants that rule the country.

>The fact is the US was fashionably late and had a great barrier of water to protect its homeland.

Indeed. Americans are surprised to learn that Normandy was a side show.

An sideshow important enough to piss off Stalin when it was postponed from the original date promised to him (1942 or 1943, can't remember).

Oh, absolutely. But it was a good thing it was postponed, the UK and the US would have been slaughtered. The US didn't really start fighting the Nazis well until late in 1943.

Most importantly, they had no amphibious assault capacity which would work in Normandy until 1944.

Dieppe landings were a disaster and a tough lessons to Allied planners on how difficult such landings were.

> Dieppe landings were a disaster and a tough lessons to Allied planners on how difficult such landings were.

Knowing this, nobody today can believe that operation Sea Lion, the German invasion plan of Britain, had even a remote chance of success. They had assembled a fleet of river barges and tugs, that was about it.

Yes. The Royal Navy would make short work of them.

"Not just the US."

Friend you need to get educated. Might I recommend any of our excellent state education board approved social studies textbooks. These describe in depth, using small words, how the US single handedly defeated the Nazis after the Nazis took over all of europe, which was completely helpless and useless to defend itself.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-571_(film)