Various Imperial Reflexes (Iran and Venezuela Thread)

[Tuuvi]

America has shown it can exert influence around the globe. It is pretty poor at judging when it should. America can operate nearly everywhere but the cost is a long way from "impunity". In cases such as Afghanistan America even relies on Pakistan for the logistical train. Far from ideal and adds a massive cost.

Many other places America even struggles to project its will these days - such as Central and South America. Mainly because it is less a leader than a bully.

What the USA really should be doing is spending large sums of money on updating infrastructure at home rather than building then destroying it abroad.

I think America is all together too confident in its ability to win protracted wars. When you look at its record since the post WWII era it's really not that great. The Korean war was a stalemate. Vietnam was a loss. The Iraq war was a pyrrhic victory and Iranian influence is strong in the country, and in Afghanistan the Taliban still holds large swathes of territory.