Frighteningly, the Russians were likely correct. While the Iraq quagmire has made it difficult for America to project force around the world, America’s growing debt, conflicts with friends and enemies alike, absence of any perceivable strategy for changing times, and its political system’s seeming inability to take action to address these challenges have combined to turn America into a struggling giant.
令人害怕的是，俄国或许是对的。美国本来就身陷伊拉克泥潭，难以在全球施加实力。加之美国债务不断加重，与敌友发生冲突，对于正在改变的世界没有任何现实的应对战略，而其政治体制看似无法采取行动来处理这些挑战。这些因素汇集起来把美国变成了一个疲于奔命的巨人。