When can a region declare independence from a country?

[gla22]

[gla22]

[The Comrade]

[eynon81]

[The Comrade]

you don't think two puppets on either side of iran with basing rights isn't increasing our power and influence(in terms of hardpower projection)?

[exploited]

[The Comrade]

mhm

not that there's much to influence any longer. pakistan and iran, basically.

[eynon81]

[exploited]

I think it is a difficult question. On one hand, basing rights and a clear example of America's conventional supremacy.

On the other hand, it revealed weaknesses in your ability to get what you want politically when the enemy soldiers are dead and civil unrest begins. Also, how much more hard power projection really has utility? The US would beat Iran handily, that has been the case for a century. Pakistan has nukes and so is more or less safe from a real invasion unless something really really important comes up. And if it really wanted, the US could roll through every military in the Middle East. I mean what does it get you beyond making such decisions less logistically challenging?

[The Comrade]

it's easy to talk shit when the nearest airbase is in missouri. little harder when it's 100 miles over the border. if not for our presence in iraq and afghanistan, i have n doubt iran would have a nuke by now. so disregarding the morality of that, i believe it has influenced countries. but like i said, there's not a lot to influence. we have stable relations with pretty much every middle eastern nations.