When the French used colorful obsolete uniforms in WWI, it was a skill issue. They had all the time in the world to modernize, but got cocky and made a terrible mistake.
The US made their military supply chain too complex, and in several points tied to private interests more than national security. It's not just the rare earths (that is a lame excuse), it's how insanely bloated the supply chain is due to too many hands on the pot. That is the major US vulnerability right now, and not letting that go (those private interests controlling a lot of stuff) is choking the US.
Most importantly, the war on Iran is asymmetrical, so it's not about having a powerful military. It's more a failure of soft power than strength. That soft power loss was also a skill issue (ostracized many international allies, etc).
It's more like the US broke its own toys and doesn't want China to fill the power vacuum it has put itself in.
The US made their military supply chain too complex, and in several points tied to private interests more than national security. It's not just the rare earths (that is a lame excuse), it's how insanely bloated the supply chain is due to too many hands on the pot. That is the major US vulnerability right now, and not letting that go (those private interests controlling a lot of stuff) is choking the US.
Most importantly, the war on Iran is asymmetrical, so it's not about having a powerful military. It's more a failure of soft power than strength. That soft power loss was also a skill issue (ostracized many international allies, etc).
It's more like the US broke its own toys and doesn't want China to fill the power vacuum it has put itself in.