Politics: Losing Control

Today marks the 8th anniversary of the Iraqi war. Actually today marks the day where the massive statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled in central Baghdad as US troops captured the city. Most probably people that planned the invasion of Iraq (and Afghanistan) would have never envisioned a situation where by they are caught in a quagmire. Militarily the US and other allied forces to the US are failing to eliminate Al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan, and they are still facing a staunch resistance in Iraq from different factions.  Economically, the US has spent so far approximately 1 trillion US dollars financing both the wars, increasing the rate of the current (inevitable) economic crisis. And finally politically, the US and its allies have less control in the politics of the invaded countries especially Iraq where countries such as Iran, Syria, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have much more influence and control of the political process as compared to the US and its allies.

US a Superpower: 

On top of all that, the status of the US as a superpower where no one dares to stand up to it has been slowly dwindling. Those in the Middle East that have stood by its policies and obeyed the orders of the US during the Bush era have now all moved back to their natural roles and are constantly trying  to rebuild relations with countries that have been severely targeted by the Bush administration (for example Syria). Even the untamed dog of the Middle East (Israel) has been refusing to accept and obey the policies of the current Obama administration, escalating tensions between the two 'strategic' allies described by the Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren, as the worst in the past 35 years. In addition, so far the US has been unable to enact most of its international policies that Obama has stated prior to ascending to presidency. Most notably the US has been unable so far to start a "peace process" in the Middle East, neither have they been able to deter the Iranians from their nuclear program or even enforce more stringent international sanctions against Iran. The most notable achievement so far at an international stage has been the signing of a new START treaty, and that, technically, has nothing to do with the Middle East.