That is exactly what the US has done ever since WW2. When it has - TopicsExpress

That is exactly what the US has done ever since WW2. When it has the courage to commit US forces (rather than equip or fund some right-wing or Islamic terrorist group/opposition) it only picks its fights with countries at a far lower level of military technology and training, preferably a country which has already been sent back to the Middle Ages, as with the case of Iraq. Yet almost without exception they have been defeated, despite the latest hardware, hi-tech intelligence, and apparently the best trained troops in the world. The current 16,000 Russian troops stationed within the Crimea have very basic equipment compared to any US invasion force. If there was any desire within the people of the Crimea to fight they would. The problem with your argument is that the Russians are welcomed, not that they are outgunned. Russian forces havent fired anything more than a few warning shots, compare that with the Shock and Awe tactics of the US military, which always provokes a violent reaction, even by those that first welcomed the intervention.