Hump day open thread: Don't mess with the US

There's no other way to say this: the American military is a force which has never been seen in human history. Neither the Romans, nor the Arabs, nor the Mongols were ever this dominant. The US does bear a resemblance to the Roman Republic in that it can take a defeat and keep on fighting, with very little long-term damage done to its ability to conduct operations.

Some of you may have seen this video. If not, enjoy. It details the time that Russian Wagner PMC mercenaries came up against units of US special forces embedded with allies in Syria. I've seen this video a few times, and every time I derive a grim pleasure from it. 

If Vladimir Putin were to expand the war in Ukraine, it would be the last decision he ever made. His army would be strafed to bits by American air power, and the Russian elites would finally get rid of him to save their own skins. His only option would be to go nuclear, and very few would be willing to burn the world for a mad dictator.

I yearn for the time when we can turn swords into ploughshares. But unilateral disarmament is not an option, not with the world is filled with the likes of Putin. Paradise will have to wait.

Have a wonderful Hump Day, everyone.