How a military victory over Iran became a political defeat.
Pro-Islamic Republic demonstrations in Tehran, Iran, on April 22, 2026. (Photo by Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images)
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There is a genius peculiar to Middle Eastern politics, which is the improbable capacity to convert colossal military defeats into political victories, and there is a complementary genius peculiar to American politics, which is the uncanny capacity to convert colossal military victories into political defeats.
