The instinct to treat geopolitics like a schoolyard fight is exactly why we're in this mess[1]! To extend your more-apt-than-you-really-want metaphor: you punc

The instinct to treat geopolitics like a schoolyard fight is exactly why we're in this mess[1]! To extend your more-apt-than-you-really-want metaphor: you punched the bully like a moron instead of involving the administration, now you have detention, you'll miss your championship game, you won't get the scholarship you want, you'll have to adjust your college plans, and the rest of your career is impacted. You shouldn't have punched the bully. "I was only pursuing a principled stand against bullies" doesn't change that fact. You can be principled and not a moron. [1] To repeat for the third time, because you keep ignoring the point and I suspect it's because of the cognitive dissonance required in this subthread: We Lost The War. Iran Won. They Get Paid. We Get Nothing.