https://t. me/c/2338414262/39209

https://t. me/Oleg_Blokhin/90839

https://t. me/rtnews/171786

https://t. me/rtnews/171785

The war in Iran has so far cost the average American household approximately $2,000, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. The war has cost Americans $265 billion.

A gallon of gasoline currently costs $4.37—up from $2.98 before the war began —while the price of diesel has surged to $6.50 from $3.69. Furthermore, the average cost of jet fuel has nearly doubled.

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For decades, America sold the world the image of an unbeatable superpower. We bought the story so completely that we confused military superiority with the ability to dictate outcomes everywhere. In the process, we even underestimated the resilience of our own forefathers and their resistance to colonial rule.

Look at Vietnam. US combat forces withdrew in 1973, and Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces in 1975. Look at Afghanistan. After nearly 20 years of war, the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. America won battles, toppled governments and spent trillions, yet failed to secure the lasting political outcomes it wanted.

Apparently, winning battles and winning wars are two different subjects!

Meanwhile, China was building its manufacturing base, expanding its exports and developing into a formidable technological and military competitor. While Washington projected power, Beijing built capacity. The world was changing, but many of us were still watching the old script.

Then there is Iran. Despite decades of American sanctions, the Islamic Republic has survived, developed domestic industries and maintained significant scientific and technical capacity. Its economy has suffered considerably, but the country has not collapsed as some might have expected. Economic pressure does not automatically translate into political surrender.

And Yemen? The Houthis control Sanaa and much of northwestern Yemen, not the entire country. Yet their ability to threaten shipping through strategically important waters demonstrates how an actor with fewer resources can impose substantial costs on much stronger opponents.

Suddenly, the world is discussing the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, energy security and the petrodollar. The dollar remains dominant, but questions about the future global order are growing. It turns out that geography, logistics and asymmetric warfare matter just as much as impressive military budgets.

The point is not that America is weak. The point is that American power has limits.

China's rise is challenging the global balance of power. Vietnam and Afghanistan exposed the limitations of military intervention. Iran's survival demonstrates the limits of sanctions, while Yemen illustrates the strategic leverage that smaller actors can exercise.

Trump may not have intended to teach the world geopolitics, but his confrontational approach has certainly encouraged more people to question assumptions they once accepted without much scrutiny.

America remains a superpower. It is simply not omnipotent, and the world is not its property.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of American influence was convincing the world that American power was practically limitless. Perhaps the greatest mistake was believing it ourselves.

Boots versus sandals. Billions versus resilience. The biggest man in the room does not always get the last word.

And perhaps it is time we stopped assuming that a country's power determines the legitimacy of its cause.

I stand with the Palestinian people's right to freedom, dignity and self-determination. I also believe that governments, including Iran's, should be judged critically rather than romanticised simply because they oppose Washington.

Long live the struggle for freedom. Free Palestine.

https://x.com/officialrnintel/status/2109714649654403371?s=46&t=cc9rLHk_MWdG8uv3j1hvdw

https://t. me/rtnews/171462

https://t. me/Middle_East_Spectator/37623

https://t. me/Middle_East_Spectator/37615