> The [US State] department's fact sheet on Taiwan-US relations earlier included the phrase "we do not support Taiwan independence" - this was removed last week as part of what it said was a "routine" update.
Their posturing during peacetime does not translate into showing up during wartime.
In fact we have already seen how they cosy up to dictators during wartime. The USA spent decades and decades backing military coups and assassinating democratically elected leaders all over the world under the guise of fighting the Cold War only to suddenly do a U-turn and pander to Putin. Russia has won the Cold War without direct military confrontation with the US.
We have also seen how Trump's first administration betrayed the Afghan government by negotiating directly with the Taliban and locking the Afghan government out of the process. He's doing the same now with regards to the war in Ukraine.
If you know any Taiwanese people, ask them whether the removal of "we don't recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation" brings them any comfort in light of how the Trump administration is treating Zelensky and America's NATO allies. Ask them what they think of Trump's expansionist rhetoric about annexing Canada, one of America's most steadfast allies with centuries of friendship.
Talk is cheap, and Taiwan as well as America's other Pacific allies are beginning to see through it.
> Russia has won the Cold War without direct military confrontation with the US.
Let's not rewrite history just to score some cheap propaganda points: the USSR lost the Cold War, and lost it badly. Russia (or rather, putinism) might be winning Cold War II, or The Oligarchic Wars, or whatever you want to call this new conflict, but the actual Cold War ended in the 90s.
I apologise; it was not my intention to rewrite history. It was a rhetorical device, though I can see how I came across as trying to be revisionist. But you're right that it's important to be precise.
It was not. I'm a real person, and I'm genuinely willing to concede that I was sloppy in my choice of words. But I'm not sure how I can prove it to you.
With the current administration, perhaps 3 days?