At the moment, the most likely outcome of the war is a battered but still standing #Iran that has regained the pugilistic confidence it lost after their crushing defeat by #Israel.

[escott@babka.social]

At the moment, the most likely outcome of the war is a battered but still standing #Iran that has regained the pugilistic confidence it lost after their crushing defeat by #Israel. That will not only translate into further bad behavior by the Iranians—suppression of dissent, resuscitation of their nuclear program, support for #terrorist proxies—but will also leave our allies in the region less secure in the US's ability to protect their collective interests. These countries will turn to China to hedge those interests.

And can you blame them? Would you trust the US under this administration to protect its allies, or negotiate any deal that doesn't enrich Red Don and the Donnettes?

Even assuming we emerge still recognizable as the United States of America following this catastrophic regime, it will take generations to repair the injury to our #economy, our #democracy, our #jurisprudence, and our standing in the world.