A grim take: renewed US-Israeli strikes on Iran are framed as a strategic defeat for America, with the war exposing the limits of US military, economic, and moral power.

• US and Israeli forces have restarted strikes on Iran after dozens of failed promises of a peace deal, and the war is escalating again.
• Iran now controls the Strait of Hormuz, choking a fifth of the world's oil and gas — which is why US gas prices are up despite "energy independence."
• The takeaway: the US could not force a small, isolated country to reopen one waterway, showing how limited American power really is.
• Iran is expected to come out stronger — likely keeping control of Hormuz, gaining regional standing for opposing Israel's war in Gaza and Lebanon.
• On Ukraine, Russia is slowly winning, and there's a real risk Russia escalates against NATO — possibly even using a limited nuclear strike — to force the West to stop arming Ukraine.

Outlook: Both wars are expected to drag on and turn out badly for the US, with nuclear escalation the worst-case danger in each.