> Would the US tolerate those acts?

Yes? What about their nuclear policy from the past half-century convinces you otherwise?

In the last 50 years US never had anything on their border.

Even if they did, it wouldn't change much.

1. Nobody would launch nukes domestically, so moot point.

2. Using nukes internationally would be a faux-pas beyond fixing. Every modern, nuclear-equipped nation understands this.

3. The United States doesn't need nuclear weaponry to dispel invaders, or even to retaliate against foreign attacks. Their nuclear weapons exist to deter other nuclear superpowers from using their weapons for petty gain.

Absolutely agreed. The US military is so well funded and capable that they could finish the job without needed to resort to nukes.

Not sure if you’re being sarcastic or serious.

America totally crushed Grenada!

Doesn’t the US make regular use of depleted uranium munitions? Particularly in the middle east?

Definitely seems nuclear.

Depleted uranium is not a nuclear weapon.

Tell that to the non-combat victims: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7903104/#:~:tex....

You can tell them whatever you want. It won't change the wording of the Geneva convention though.

You're free to argue that DU rounds are effectively a poisonous weapon and should be banned on those grounds. I would agree. That doesn't change the fact that depleted uranium is not a nuclear weapon.

People forget that JFK nearly nuked the USSR over the Cuban missile crisis (which was a response to NATO missiles in Turkey, ironically enough).

The missiles at question in the Cuban missile crisis were nuclear. That's not a reasonable comparison to the non-nuclear confrontation in Ukraine.

> Reverse the roles. American ballon

Ok. American balloon over China will be shot down. You know the rules about air space, water etc?

Sincere advice: don't assume you have insights and knowledge that is deeper than those from the experts. This is a pitfall for us HN'ers.

Man, I wrote several replies to this comment but decided against them all. This is silly- the U.S. and China have been playing with balloons like this for years, that one was just really big

Right, the US would totally make nuclear threats against Mexico for shooting down a ballon. Not even Trump would be deranged enough for that (well on second thought, maybe he would but nobody would take him serious, just like Medvedev's daily nuclear threat).

The Mexico example was long range weapons. If Chinese missiles were hitting American cities from Mexico (outside of the localized fighting), do you believe that has the possibility to escalate?

Maybe, but I can give a much more concrete example: Russia has nukes on Europe's doorstep in Kaliningrad which can reach Berlin in a couple of minutes, do you hear anybody in Germany, Europe or NATO whine about "escalation"?

Can you break this down? I don't follow.

TL;DR: Russia has Iskander missiles stationed in their Kaliningrad exclave (former Koenigsberg if Kaliningrad doesn't ring a bell), Iskander missiles can carry nuclear warheads and have a range of 500 km which is just enough to reach Berlin. Now add two and two together. Why would Russia station nuclear capable missiles in the middle of Europe without the nuclear warheads nearby?

I'm very aware of Kaliningrad and it's history.

I don't understand your point. How does it relate to my analogy of a neighbor of America getting armed and trained by a sworn and bellicose enemy of America who states openly that it's goal is American regime change and geopolitical breakup. Under this scenario, I suspect the US would roll into Mexico and end that sooner than later under the Monroe Doctrine due to the real (or perceived) existential threat. At least, I would hope so - Mexico being in a military alliance with China would be not good.

Russia's stated goal (according to Dmitri Medvedev, former president and now "Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation") is also to "build a united Eurasia from Vladivostok to Lisbon", yet it is very unlikely that any European nation would preemptively invade Kaliningrad over those existential threats.

Also, Mexico entering a military alliance with China is extremely far fetched, how did you even arrive at that idea?