Well, the Wehrmacht put up a pretty good fight. So did Stalin's Soviet Army
Apples and oranges , historically the still young and not proven wrong revolutionary USSR fought against the humiliated from ww1 German nation.
But then they aren't threatening to attack China or Russia, are they now?
Ever wonder why?
Let me get this straight: do you believe that their nuclear test wasn't a nuclear test?
I don't believe it was and i also do not believe that NK 's made missiles can reach the other side of the Pacific .
Barking dogs don't bite.
Oh no, I do believe that deterrence works. But the deterrent has to be credible. The DPRK is a genuine threat to stability; I don't believe it should be attacked (in fact, I believe we should tread very softly with regards to it), but I most definitely don't believe we can just ignore them.
Ignoring a megalomaniac ? this would be good .
Obama so far is trying to keep a balance in positions and rhetoric and NK is only one of the factors that pressing him hard to chose sides , for sure Koreans are not a threat to their stability but may be revealing when it comes to U.S intentions.
True, but still de facto independent. China wants Taiwan back, but it hasn't gotten it, and doesn't appear to have any immediate prospects of doing so. How does this fit in with your "what China
wants, China gets" analysis?
Hong Kong has a different status while being part of China , same goes with Taiwan plus there is a timing for anything, "right here , right now" is an American concept that does not reflect the ways old nations are operating .
Well, the Afghans did eventually kick the Soviets out
Same goes for the French in Viet Nam , too costly , it doesn't mean that the Russians couldn't gas life out of every single Afghani , it just wasn't cost effective
Georgia is still independent
But chopped down , severely .
and Tibet was a part of China for most of its history
Not really , Tibet was a kingdom in medieval era and enjoyed autonomy before the Chinese annexed it , i am not examining if this was good or bad
Russia lost the Baltics, the Central Asian republics, Belarus, and Ukraine
This came natural , Russia is NOT USSR , the Baltic is inhabited by very different people (like Ingrians) very hostile to USSR also the union dissolved given independence to all it's republics .
Belarus is rulled by a pro-Russian dictator ( they have been ousted from Council of Europe) and Ukraine is one of the biggest countries/nations in Europe , too big to be chewed by anyone ( don't forget who sold cutting edge radars to Saddam days before Iraq war 2 )
and China hasn't gotten Outer Mongolia and the parts of Siberia that it would also like to get back.
A Russian-Chinese conflict over some frozen wastelands is simply not possible.
Russia and China are both big, imperial countries with long histories; their borders have shifted a lot over the centuries (or millennia, in China's case). They've had their share of reverses as well as gains. If you only point to their gains and ignore the reverses, you'll get as flawed a picture of them as if you only point to the reverses and ignore the gains.
True but look their positions now , China is buying U.S. state bonds while Russia can blackmail entire Europe on the energy field .
You do realize what sources you're quoting, I hope?
I just quoted the first 2 out of 10's of results appearing in a google search , Shanghai pact is a reality .
Also the Russians do pay better without shooting the natives and when it comes to central Asia it is all about money and PR.