'our adversaries' have discovered that the empire is a blowhard bully incapable of enforcing its will where ever it chooses;

 

 When the US-Israeli war against Iran began, few in Beijing or Moscow likely expected Tehran to withstand military pressure from two of the world’s most capable powers.

In the early days, US and Israeli air, intelligence and technological superiority were striking, and Iran suffered heavy blows. But what could have been a short campaign to disable Iran’s military capabilities has turned into a longer, costlier war.

Despite severe losses, Iran has preserved its political structure and much of its military response capability — proof that inflicting extensive damage and forcing surrender are two very different things.

This resilience is more than a battlefield development. For China and Russia, the war has become a real test of the limits of American power. The two countries have different stakes in the conflict, but neither can treat a decisive Iranian defeat as a purely Middle Eastern matter.

Both appear to understand that if the United States can use military superiority to strategically weaken one of West Asia’s most important independent powers, the region’s balance of power will shift, with consequences reaching into the broader geopolitical and geoeconomic contest among Washington, Beijing and Moscow.........more..........