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[–] 22 points 1 month ago (32 children)

If the US tried it Canada would make Vietnam, Afghanistan, etc look like a casual sunday stroll in the park. If the US couldn't handle Guerrilla warfare against people who DON'T look like them, imagine how well they'll do against people that do. And the further north they got the more fucked they'd be. Ever been in a fight with a pissed off Indigenous individual? try it, see how far you get. Not only that you got all the dudes living in the bush with rifles and god knows what else.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 month ago*

    People who look like them, sound like them and know all the same pop culture, including supposedly local stuff like news anchors.

    There's not many shibboleths they could use, and usually they pick a really obvious one. I pledge...

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  • [–] 8 points 1 month ago (10 children)

    And the further north they got the more fucked they’d be

    Doesn't like 90% of Canada's population live within 100 km of the border? Not much reason to even go that far north unfortunately

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  • [–] 14 points 1 month ago (5 children)

    No need to take the minerals, oil and water that are abundant in those northern places?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

    Ehhh. Most of the extraction happens in the south too, because you need workers (edit: and reasonably low shipping costs). Like, Fort Mac is a little further north, but it's still below 60N, in Alberta.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    Mining and O&G put together are like 5% of Canada's GDP. All the valuable real estate and I suspect much of the industries other than mining and logging are concentrated in the major cities. You'd get like 90% of the benefits from controlling 10% of the country. Not that I'd expect Trump to realize this. Luckily he seems to be as dumb as he is evil.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

    But it's a good portion of our exports. Hairdressers aren't super relevant for an occupying force.

    Although, resource extraction wouldn't be the point of this war. There's lots of much softer, easier to propagandise about targets out there, if they just wanted an encore of colonialism.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (1 child)

    Hairdressers aren't super relevant for an occupying force.

    That's fair. But I'm pretty sure most of the manufacturing is still near where the population is since workers are needed. And if they decide to go full settler mode, all the urban areas will be free to occupy if Canadians are out in the forests defending the homeland.

    But tbf, it is Trump we're talking about. He would probably want the oil more than anything, even if there's so much else that would be much easier to take.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

    The plan is to follow the Taliban's example, it sounds like, so there'd be both rural and urban activity reinforcing each other, and the point would be to make properly occupying all cities at once fairly impossible.

    Trump's main motive seems to improvement of the US's size and border shape on a map. Probably, Like in Afghanistan, resources are besides the point. Although he's not going to say no if he can manage it.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (7 children)

    I don't think it would be nearly as difficult as Vietnam. Vietnam had direct military aid from China coming over the land border, whereas the united States had to stretch their logistics halfway around the world.

    If the U.S. hadn't used up our missile and artillery supplies in Iran and Ukraine, I think the majority of the Canadian military and government could be taken out all at once.

    Obviously attacking a friendly neighbor is a villainous thing to do, but I don't think the Vietnam comparison is apt.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago

    Taking out bases with missiles is different than invading and dealing with guerilla warfare tactics and a bunch of really angry citizens who have guns...we just don't talk about it.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 child)

    Yeah, maybe Europe would help, and the other commonwealth countries would have an awkward time not helping at all, particularly the UK. But, there's an ocean in the way. Nobody can just hop on the Hoser Chi Minh trail and cross into ice Laos.

    On the other hand, you absolutely could walk accross into America itself and mess things up. Honestly, that might be even better.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

    Vietnam has a total area of approximately 331,344 square kilometers (127,933 square miles)

    The total area of British Columbia is 944,735 square kilometers (364,764 square miles).

    Canada has a total area of approximately 9,984,670 square kilometres (3,855,100 square miles)

    Stretching your logistics is an entirely different challenge than spreading your logistics out.

    The USA built up many bases in South Vietnam to launch the invasion. So it's not like they were operating on a major handicap.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (2 children)

    They don't need to capture empty land. They need capital cities and a few other strategic points.

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  • [–] -3 points 1 month ago (10 children)

    This might be the most delusional thing I've ever seen commented on Lemmy.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago* (8 children)

    Why?

    Like, it's a little imaginative in parts. But Canada is bigger than Afghanistan in every way, and not weak in any of the same ways.

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  • [–] -4 points 1 month ago* (7 children)

    Because it is delusional. Afghanistan is a world away, has strong cultural influence for that kind of combat, and isn't filled with people who came to the country with the intention of going to the USA.

    When surveyed about 49% of Canadians say they wouldn't fight for their country. 10% would welcome being annexed by the USA- after all, many people only come to Canada because they couldn't get into the usa. We don't have anything close to the resolve afgans have, and we don't have the stomach for war. Sure, we have some elite snipers, but snipers an army do not make.

    There's no point in this conversation though, because anybody who thinks Canada stands a snowballs chance in hell against the USA is a full scale invasion isn't going to respond to reason.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

    and isn’t filled with people who came to the country with the intention of going to the USA.

    Not really a common thing, as someone who lives here. Do you live here? You have a .ca user, but that's a really weird take.

    There’s no point in this conversation though, because anybody who thinks Canada stands a snowballs chance in hell against the USA is a full scale invasion isn’t going to respond to reason.

    Oh, we'd lose. For a bit. So did the Taliban.

    If you want to stop there, so be it. There is more to say, though.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    I don't know what the definition of common is, but it's about 10% of people in Canada when polled would welcome becoming US citizens. It was Angus Reid which is known to be heavily botted, so ymmv

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 child)

    And the American count for becoming a Canadian citizen might be 30%, and that 10% is going to be mostly Canadian born. Hell, aside from the tax requirements, I'd take a green card. It wouldn't hurt! I still wouldn't move there.

    In any war, most people don't fight. The Taliban was never anywhere close to most Afghans. Afghans are more used to war and harsh conditions, but again, there's massive advantages we have they didn't, as well.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 month ago

    Alright, I accept you think Canada can beat the USA in a full scale war.

    I don't believe it, and your comment didn't convince me otherwise. On the contrary, it reinforced my existing beliefs.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    The US military does not have the capability to invade and control Canada, not even close. While the US may pay the most for military they don't really get their monies worth much like healthcare.

    Could the US invade Canada? Certainly, but it would be short lived and unsustainable.

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