Military might inflicts terrible destruction but it can't force a surrender
Published: May. 4, 2026 | Updated: May. 8, 2026
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A prediction of the demise of military hegemony may seem premature, if not completely wrong, at a time when the headlines are all about how the US (and Israel) is battering Iran, threatening to bomb it “back to the stone age”: President Trump’s echo of Bush’s words on Afghanistan. Yet, recent events provide enough evidence to make out a credible case for such a possibility as we look ahead.
What happens in Iran over the next few days — when this reaches your eyes — is uncertain. Yet, as this is being written, well over a month since the unprovoked US-Israel attack on Iran, the war has clearly not been won. While Iran’s military capabilities have been deeply degraded and much of its nuclear facilities destroyed, it is far from being completely cowed down, strongly negating all demands for unconditional surrender. In fact, it has enough firepower and gumption left to continue targeting Israel as also US bases in and around the Gulf. Thirty-plus days into a devastating war, it is yet able to shoot down US planes and helicopters. The military might of the superpower is visible in the destruction it has wrought, but yet is incapable of forcing a surrender, or even stopping powerful retaliation.
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