For all the leverage the US has militarily, what control did it actually exert in Afghanistan? What about Russia in Ukraine? War and occupation is one thing,

For all the leverage the US has militarily, what control did it actually exert in Afghanistan? What about Russia in Ukraine? War and occupation is one thing, but I'm speaking more of the consent of the governed. Do you think the billionaire class can keep hoovering up all the economic gains as jobs are automated based solely on their self-interested narrative of capital ownership? What happens when unemployment hits 20%, 30%, 50%? Are they going to send drones against the populace? Even in China, the CCP's policies only work as long as they deliver a certain measure of prosperity to the people. Propaganda and police brutality can only take you so far before the people have had enough.