To be fair, that question is often asked half tongue in cheek. It's a useful way to start off a discussion or understand if the other person has thought about it and takes it seriously or thinks nothing of it at all
Technologies: Python, C#, Java, Node.js, WebGL, OpenGL, Javascript/Typescript. Can operate across the entire stack but tend to prefer backend and infrastructure related work. Can work with functional languages. Recently been exploring Golang.
> No, instead Iran has used proxies like Hezbollah to do their interfering. They use a cowardly approach because they know their actions are despicable, it provides deniability.
Hmm, so you just expect them to sit quietly and accept whatever is happening around them? The constant incursions by western countries into their backyard means they have a huge stake in any wars fought nearby. Imagine China(a country from the other side of the world) attacking Mexico for whatever reason, leading to even more people trying to get illegally into the US- can you imagine the hubbub this would undoubtedly cause? And this is without all the latent religious tension of the middle-east...
The way I see it, the United States made a huge mistake backing a tyrannical figure in Iran when they could have easily encouraged a vibrant democracy. Instead, they decided to support the Saudis who have shown almost no progress towards a better system of governance. They even went as far as praising the late ruler even though the state of human and civil rights in Saudi Arabia is much worse compared to Iran. Expecting a government and people whose country you have wronged time and again over an extended period of time to forgive you is just plain silly. Further, expecting them to sit by idly while the nations around them are tearing themselves apart and being invaded(at times on false pretenses) is just a whole new level of dumb.
I think India might be a better test case for any such study. Most Indians are forced to learn at last two languages and in several parts even three. I guess I cannot speak for the all the rural regions where learning just the local dialect of the state language would suffice but education in most tier-2 and metro cities is carried out in English in most places and everybody knows it is the language they must learn if they are to enter the global marketplace at any point in their lives. Not everyone is equally fluent but they tend to know just about enough to communicate.
In North India, the most prevalent language is Hindi. And several of the other state languages are often related in some way to Hindi making them at least partially mutually intelligible. Like Punjabi and Marathi.
South India is a whole other matter. The four predominant languages there are quite different from the Northern ones. Some of them share different forms of similar words but each has its own script.
Having spent varying amounts of time growing up in Delhi, Madras, Madurai and Bangalore, I can speak, read and write in Hindi, Tamil and English. My fluency in each of these areas tends to vary but I can get by in any one of these alone. Also, through my interactions with friends and neighbours, I can understand bits and pieces of few other languages as well
Since when does the US care about the International Court of Justice?
"The United States accepts the court's jurisdiction only on a case-by-case basis"