The age of war? Israel-Iran conflict further undemines global security

Donald Trump sold us a different kind of Pax Americana. The U-S-led global rules-based order was always about soft power backed by bulk military might.Trump’s rules on Inauguration Day veered instead to the utilitarian: yes to the world’s top superpower staking imperial claims to parts of the planet deemed vital to national interests. Yes to coveting Greenland’s strategic minerals and Panama’s essential waterway. No to forever wars in places like Ukraine where the US pays while Europe reaps the benefits of curbing Vladimir Putin’s westward march.