Probably not even the United States is capable of halting Iran’s nuclear program by force, because Iran is too strong, cunning and resilient within the global economy. Only dismantling the Iran-China-Russia alliance would make Iran more vulnerable. But this is unlikely to happen.

So we must accept reality: the West is no longer the ruler and the center of the universe. Since imposing our will and values upon such actors as Iran is impossible, we are doomed to negotiate and offer concessions. We should try to woo emerging nations with Western culture and values, hoping that their people will on their own reject the antics of anti-Western rulers.