Donald Trump’s war on Iran, nicknamed ‘Operation Epstein Fury’, has truly blown up in his face. He is reduced to thrashing around in desperation, from threats to absurd declarations of victory, back to threats. The mask of the American Empire has fallen.

As we enter week five of the US-Israeli war on Iran, things are not going as planned for Donald Trump. The US are now stuck and face a position where there are no good options. This enormous blunder will have widespread ramifications long after the war ends.

Today, we are witnessing the relative decline of US imperialism. This crucial subject is outlined in John Peterson’s fantastic book ‘Colossus: The Rise and Decline of US Imperialism’. Here, we reproduce extracts from the book alongside a review from a reader.