The massive, structural, weakness of the American Empire, much like ancient Rome, is that they simply don't have the legions anymore to project and protect their interests. They rely on auxiliaries, mercenaries, terrorists and the soldiers from vassal states. The Americans can't put half a million soldiers on the ground anymore. Ukraine is the prime example of this US dilemma. They need the Ukrainians to do the fighting and dying for them against Russia. The Russians have shown that they can stand up to NATO, and win a historic victory.
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