23 years ago today, the US attacked Iraq.

Just as the "War on Drugs" did not abolish the drug trade, the "War on Terror" only gave rise to more terror. But perhaps the point was to destabilize the region, ensuring the US would always have enemies to justify its imperial interventions.

Authoritarian regimes must create enemies that make them look good by comparison. In 2006, we speculated that the Bush administration was intentionally pursuing policies that fostered fundamentalist terrorism—a more convenient adversary than movements for liberation.

https://crimethinc.com/bushcounting

Today, desperately seeking to create enough turbulence to keep itself aloft, the Trump administration has returned to the strategy of intentionally destabilizing the Middle East.

But the US was an unrivaled power in 2003—whereas now, it is a waning empire.

The outcome may surprise everyone.