, Columnist
It’s the Worst Time to Be an American Ally
Intimacy looks different.
Photographer: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
The Iran war, which is now likely to flare up again after talks in Islamabad between Washington and Tehran have failed, has been a humanitarian, economic and geopolitical disaster. One heuristic for grasping the scale of the strategic catastrophe is to look at America’s allies and adversaries worldwide and ask: Cui bono, who benefits? Cui malo, who loses?
The balance sheet is disturbing, because the main winners have been America’s adversaries, while the losers are its traditional allies in Europe, Asia and the Gulf. Israel is a special case.