This year, the United States has completely exposed its naked superpower thug nature — going to the capital of Venezuela to kidnap President Maduro and his wife, threatening to occupy Greenland, and now openly launching a military strike against the regional power Iran, shocking most countries around the world. These series of actions have sparked a hot topic: has the United States declined? Many scholars believe that from current events such as the US-Iran conflict, it can be seen that the United States still has strong economic power and unparalleled military strength, and we must not underestimate the power of the United States. What they said is very reasonable. I would like to take this opportunity to add some supplements for your reference.

The Iranian capital Tehran has been continuously attacked by the United States and Israel. (Source: Associated Press)

Has the United States declined? I think, relative to China, it has declined; relative to other countries, it has not declined. This is also an important reason why it views China as a thorn in its side.

Trump is indeed an exception, always acting without rules. When the entire international community follows rules, suddenly appearing a person who ignores the rules will inevitably gain some advantages at first, which is a basic common sense of political science and sociology. However, if he completely breaks the rules, leading countries no longer bound by rules, his original advantages will become less obvious. Therefore, the advantages gained by Trump are actually not solid.

US President Trump (Source: Reuters)

The Trump administration has done many unethical things since the beginning of the year, and the United States has indeed gained some benefits in the short term, but this has not changed the general trend of "the East rising and the West declining." Trump's reckless behavior is equivalent to squandering the strength accumulated by his ancestors over generations. Overall, the comprehensive national strength of the United States has been gradually accumulated over the past hundred years. After suffering losses from the Iraq War, the United States has been relatively cautious when using its strength. However, Trump's actions are like squandering the wealth accumulated by his grandfather and father: short-term gains, but long-term losses. Once it encounters setbacks in the future, its hegemonic position may become extremely vulnerable.

We can assume that if the successor of Khamenei is a hardliner and is willing to fight with the United States at all costs, Trump will definitely face a difficult situation. If Iran receives strong support from some mysterious external forces and even successfully attacks a US aircraft carrier, it would be a heavy blow to the Trump administration. What I want to emphasize is: the current hegemonic position of the United States is actually quite fragile.

In summary, we acknowledge that the absolute strength of the United States is still powerful, but the current tough and arrogant behavior of the United States is not an indication of the rise of its strength. The more reckless it is, the more it depletes its credit; the more it uses brute force, the more it exposes its lack of confidence. History's momentum cannot be reversed by military intimidation and unilateral bullying. The tide of the era of "the East rising and the West declining" is unstoppable. If the United States continues to act recklessly, it may accelerate its decline due to self-destruction.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7613623473021420041/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.