For a long time, hubris has been a widespread sin among the American people. When it is drilled into your head that you are a unique, special country with a mission to save the world, for all intents and purposes, it will get increasingly difficult to think differently than most have been conditioned to think.
One of the most dangerous superiority complexes which Americans have is this seeming sense of military invincibility. It felt particularly egregious in the eighties and nineties, and leading up to the fateful Iraq invasion in 2003. You remember, when George W. Bush and his administration promised a quick and decisive victory in Iraq? We waged a war based on lies, on the idea that Iraq had this massive stockpile of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's) and we could not afford to wait a minute longer. It was time to go to war against Iraq.
Which we did. While we were simultaneously already fighting a war in Afghanistan.
It seemed at first that both conflicts had ended in quick victories for the United States. Within weeks, even days, the Taliban had been ousted in Afghanistan, for the most part. And in Iraq, Saddam's regime fell, and the United States proclaimed victory. George W. Bush infamously went to an aircraft carrier to give a speech under a gigantic banner reading "Mission Accomplished!"
But those proclamations of glorious victory turned out to be premature. The wars were not over. In fact, they had only begun. We were involved in both wars for well over a decade and a half. In fact, Afghanistan turned out to be the longest war in American history, surpassing Vietnam, which Iraq eventually did as well.
And yet, we hardly seemed to learn much in the way of lessons from that, have we? We elected someone into the White House who is notoriously unstable. And all this guy seems to want to do is create hostility with the entire rest of the world. Both economic warfare - again, seemingly against the entire rest of the world, and all at once - as well as actual warfare. Very shortly after getting elected, King Con Don began to talk about militarily taking over Greenland, taking over Panama, taking over Gaza. He repeatedly, relentlessly referred to Canada as the "51st state" and talked about how wonderful it would be if Canada became part of the United States. Then Trump actually invaded Venezuela, and referred to himself as "President of Venezuela." When the Colombian president protested, Trump declared that Colombia might just be next, and also hinted that Cuba was ready to fall, as well. Then he turned his attention back to Greenland, seemingly preparing the way for a military takeover, until the NATO countries (of which the United States was a member in good standing before Trump) stood up and found a way to force Trump to back down.
But it was not over. Weeks later, Trump launched an attack on Iran. Another conflict in the Middle East. You know, those have been going just so well for us, that we were all itching for another war there, right? Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth even call it a war, even while they went around Congress in order to launch this war. They still are avoiding Congress, although it is clear that we are now very much in a war.
If you listen to Trump and his White House, the United States has unbelievable military capabilities. Which, of course, they do.
However, I remember reading a book from American General Andrew Bacevich, where he criticized this mindset, which he felt had it's origins during the Reagan years. Americans got the impression that the American military could do anything and everything. That there were no limits. Before long, we began to grow hungry for war. If you're an American and remember those times honestly and with objectivity, you will have to admit this was the case. We were tired of "mini" or limited military engagements like Grenada and Panama. We were ready for a big conflict. And we finally got it after Iraq invaded Kuwait.
It was an American-led war, and it was a clear and decisive military victory. The whole country celebrated. The military had a parade down the Canyon of Heroes in New York City. The President's approval rating reached record highs. I remember some people - journalists among them - saying that now, finally, we could put the quagmire of Vietnam behind us. America was back, baby!
All of which led, inevitably, to third for another war, another decisive victory. And a little over a decade later, we got that other war. And it was a familiar opponent: Saddam's Iraq. Indeed, the regime collapsed.
Yet the war raged on. Americans won every battle, much as they did in Vietnam. And in Afghanistan.
But since the war raged on, and our objectives seemed...well, unclear, the war grew increasingly unpopular back home. Eventually, we were the ones who backed out of both Iraq and Afghanistan, compromised. In Afghanistan, our original enemies, the Taliban, outright took over the country again, which sure smacks of defeat to most.
You might think that we would really hesitate to get into another war. And indeed, at least polls show that this war with Iran was unpopular right at the outset.
Still, we voted someone into the Oval Office who loves war like no other president before. He invaded Venezuela in January, and then Iran in February. He threatened to invade Greenland in between, then backed off. But who knows for how long? Or for that matter, which country is next on his list?
Which brings me back to Bacevich. Again, he is a military expert, a former American General. And he stated blatantly that this perception that the American military in invincible, untouchable, and thus can do anything, anywhere in the world, is wrong. That this belief will likely lead to disaster.
Yet, quite clearly, this belief of American military invincibility is something that the Trump regime has faith in. And they are putting it all into practice.
Once again, multiple wars at once. I suspect that Venezuela is not completely done. And Iran certainly is not. Nor does it seem like Trump wants to slow down with his possible invasion targets.
And I cannot help but think that this is how a superpower undoes it's own privileged status. This is how the United States might wind up responsible for it's own undoing.
Donald Trump Has Lit a Global Match by Jordan Michael Smith/March 6, 2026:
Trump and his aides think the United States has global leverage that his predecessors refused to use. He seems to forget that other countries have leverage, too—and they’re intent on using it to stop him.
https://newrepublic.com/article/207218/donald-trump-global-leverage-foreign-policy?utm_campaign=SF_TNR&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwY2xjawQYr-RleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe6WX5AeP3VGOKPq0CnmJtSwEj2yGkcYeUd2cK9z8BaIupHBSgrvLB3LT5Gqw_aem_JLSgNmLOgH35XMmbNE8UzA
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