[bluegatty]

"After 9/11, there's no world in which any attack on the US homeland, however small or local, is met with anything other than overwhelming retribution."

Ok, just follow through with the logic.

If the US 'flatteNed' Cuba (like Gaza) in response to a few drones - it would 100% make the US 'The Evil Empire' and turn the world 100% against America as a neo fascist entity.

The costs would be unthinkable, and probably the demise of the nation as a having a 'historical special place'.

It would not ever fully recover, and the 'New World Order' would be something really hard to imagine.

In reality - something else would play out ..

I think the response would be disproportionate, but probably focused, but it depends on the 'populist effect' aka what exactly Cuba attacked, and how it was provoked.

If the US attacked Cuba first, and responded with drones on a US military installation - I'll bet there is populist resistance to escalation.

Event that tussle alone would look really bad on US, would guarantee the DJT regime probably 'last place' for all US presidents, people would be calling for 25th Amendment and for new leadership, even at the same time as they might even support strikes in response.

It'll mean total political chaos until the Admin steps away, probably Congress/Institutions trying to put a 'bubble' around WH Admin.

[geysersam]

> If the US 'flatteNed' Cuba (like Gaza) in response to a few drones - it would 100% make the US 'The Evil Empire' and turn the world 100% against America as a neo fascist entity.

It has already happened. Even in west Europe politicians are discussing how to protect their nations from US imperialism. Every remaining alliance the US has is strictly quid pro quo, there's no trust left anywhere (Israel being the singular exception). Meanwhile 50% of the planet is completely fed up and can't wait to have China take over as leader of the international order.

[dinkumthinkum]

The whole thing is stupid. The US wouldn’t flatten Cuba. Only leftists think the Cuban people support the communists. It’s like that Hasab Piker saying “the good Cubans are still in Cuba but the ones in the US that don’t like communism are crazy.” The reality is we would decapitate their regime, kill all their top brass, blow up their military installations, probably gave some collateral damages, and then in a year there would be reports, modern vehicles, and commerce.

[bluegatty]

"The reality is we would decapitate their regime, kill all their top brass, blow up their military installations, probably gave some collateral damages, and then in a year there would be reports, modern vehicles, and commerce."

I couldn't imagine a delusional statement, considering we are literally at the moment, failing to 'change a regime' in an active war, once again!

The lack of self awareness here is ... scary.

Iran? Afghanistan? Iraq? Vietnam? Venezuela?

How many more lessons do you need, beyond than the one literally on your TV set right now ?

Here are some historical realities:

Nobody thinks of 'Castro Inc' as 'Communist' other than young folks on Reddit, or people listening to Joe Rogan.

Every adult - those living there, here, and elsewhere - know that Castro Inc. are ruthless authoritarians - their 'nominal communism' is barely relevant. Ideology is barely cover for anything as it is with all regimes.

If they have any residual popularity at all - it's for 'Standing up to America!' and those who held up the ancien regime in Cuba that 'Kept the people down!' - which has at least some historic resonance.

Nobody liked Saddam, nobody likes the Taliban, and the Communists in Vietnam were not popular in the South, and unlikely in the North as well.

Chavizmo had popular support, but that waned, and nobody likes the current regime.

And yet - where is all of this 'modern vehicles and commerce' in all these places?

The lack of self awareness is shocking.

The US ended up killing 100's of thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Almost 1 million peopled died in Saddam's US-supported invasion of Iran.

The Israeli government has now admitted that up to 70K Arabs were killed in Gaza.

Many in the US have no problem bombing the smithereens out of civilians, so long as there can be some kind of populist cover for it even if it's totally disproportional.

If Castro Inc. were so irresponsible that they sent drones into a US base, it's entirely plausible that Trump Inc. bombs Cuba with enormous civilian collateral damage.

Whatever happens, the regime will not fall, thinking as much is a dangerous insult to reality.

The only way Cuba could be liberated by force is a 'full invasion', which is technically very feasible but completely unlikely, or, a long, protracted movement towards detente. That's it.

[dinkumthinkum]

All of those are different conflicts. There hasn't been change in Venezuela? Have you seen the political prisoners being released? Are you aware of Germany, Japan, or Panama? Every conflict is different. I thought the Iraq war foolish and the Afghanistan war did not have clear goals and too many different presidents. I think it is interesting that you know that no Cuban living in the US that does not listen to Joe Rogan and is not on Reddit doesn't think of Cuba as communist. It's a pretty unbelievable statement. I don't know if this some leftist No True Scotsman thing or what. You think because they are authoritarian, they are not communist? How do you think we ensure that I have a right to your labor if not by force? I guess we will just see what happens.