Quote Originally Posted by JMA View Post
Carl, you have been a lone voice insisting that the US should not cut Taiwan loose. I respect you for that. But, even Americans sometimes forget that they come out of a culture where everything (and I mean everything) is negotiable (that leaves you and the handful who believe in what you believe with regard to Taiwan to be in a pitiful minority). The most honest act the US can take in relation to Taiwan is to tell them that they should (starting right now) not rely on support from the US and negotiate the best solution with China that they can (while they can).

It may not happen in my lifetime but I predict with certainty that what we see with Taiwan will eventually play out with Hawaii where mainland Americans begin to question whether to risk conflict with China is worth the defence of Hawaii. (May sound ridiculous today but book mark this and in 20-25 years lets talk again). Everything is negotiable...
If the American culture and all it stands for is negotiable (everything, that is), then would it be correct to surmise that it is not based on principle, morality or resolve? Everything is up for the grabs?

I wonder if such a culture could have made the US as powerful as it is today.

I find it rather odd that the US would for the fear of a conflict with China, hand over Hawaii to the Chinese 25 years hence.

Would Alaska go the same way to avoid risk of a conflict with Russia?

Why forget the French and the Spanish. They might be embolden to ask for the return of their territories.

Too imaginative, I would say.

I am surprised that Iraq and Afghanistan could break the will of a nation as powerful as the US!