empire on the brink of collapse:

https://www.unz.com/estriker/the-line-in-the-sand/The US shows every symptom of an empire on the brink of collapse: an irreconcilably divided and decaying citizenry, racial and cultural incoherence, a totally detached oligarchy, no overarching mission or narrative, and an over reliance on international mercenaries to fight its wars. By 2009, soldiers of fortune outnumbered the US military personnel 3-1 in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 At this point, hot war appears to be inevitable. Even Zionists who have spent their careers pushing for a war with Iran, like Max Boot and Richard Haas, know that America has crossed a line in the sand. At the very least, no American soldier will ever be safe in the Middle East again.

A Lion in the Winter

General Soleimani was not some random military officer. This figure is considered a legend in his home and much of the Middle East, uniting both hardliners and reformers as a patriotic symbol. Even Soleimani’s most passionate haters in Tel Aviv and Washington grant that he is a military genius, a pius warrior-monk, and a man who has always led from the front.