Invincibility Lost

March 20, 2026

Newspaper, Opinions, Editorials

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

While generals and military planners in the United States may count disrupted supply chains, damaged logistics bases, degraded air defence layers and uprooted facilities across the Middle East as signs of attritional strain, a far more consequential dimension lies elsewhere. It is the symbolic mystique of American military power, one that much of the world has long internalised, now being steadily eroded as the conflict with Iran unfolds.

This mystique rests on the perception of the United States as the unchallenged master of modern warfare. It has been cultivated through decades of “shock and awe” operations and the deployment of overwhelming force designed to project dominance and deter resistance. Yet that machinery now appears increasingly ineffective against Iran, challenging not just battlefield outcomes but the very image of invincibility that has underpinned American power.

Meaningless War

The aircraft carrier, long considered the pinnacle of U.S. military projection, has reportedly been pushed hundreds of miles away from Iranian shores, while the Strait of Hormuz remains a space approached with caution rather than control. Vast expenditures, running into trillions of dollars, have sustained this global military architecture, but recent developments have cast doubt on its aura. Reports surrounding damage to assets such as the USS Abraham Lincoln, attributed officially to an onboard incident, have nevertheless fed into a broader narrative of vulnerability.

The most striking symbolic moment came with claims of an F-35 fighter being struck midair. Even as official accounts frame the situation differently, the mere circulation of such images and narratives carries weight. The F-35 has been marketed as the cornerstone of American air superiority, a stealth platform designed to evade detection and dominate contested skies. Any suggestion of its vulnerability, whether fully verified or not, reverberates far beyond the immediate incident.

Academic Misconduct

Ultimately, it is these symbolic blows that may prove more consequential than material losses. Perceptions of power, once shaken, are difficult to restore, and their long-term impact on global strategic calculations may endure well beyond the present conflict.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

© The Nation (Editorials)