The shift now underway is unlikely to take the form of a dramatic collapse of American power in the Gulf. It is more likely to be subtler and, for the region, more unsettling.
Rasool’s expulsion deepened an already deteriorating relationship between the two countries, one that had been on a downward spiral since Trump returned to office.
America’s Achilles’ heel is internal. If it loses this war, it will likely be because much of the media, politicians, and even some of Trump’s allies do not fully understand his policies.
This is a particularly opportune moment for Donald Trump to alter the world order in the face of China and Russia and to reshape geopolitics in the Middle East.
[W]hen ethics are abandoned for epics, and when political power subverts rational military decision-making, it is not surprising that symptoms of strategic fatigue begin to develop.