Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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John Mearsheimer details how the American Empire stumbled into one of its largest strategic blunders, and what the effects of it all might entail for the rest of the world.
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(0:00) Intro
(2:30) Why was Trump the one?
(5:25) General Caine
(7:26) Did Trump think it’d be easy?
(8:41) Did Netanyahu think it’d be easy?
(10:05) Israel’s goal
(11:04) Iran’s strategy
(15:33) U.S. Escalation ladder
(19:12) Killing civilians doesn’t work
(23:46) Shutting down Strait
(28:15) Iranians need a good deal
(32:08) Consequences
(35:52) Russia and China
(40:09) Future of U.S. power in the ME
(45:49) Military censorship in Israel
(52:25) Outro