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Culture War Roundup for the week of September 15, 2025

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total loss of America's moral standing in the world

I'll just note that this perception of moral standing was more self-perceived rather than actual. The Iraq War was not particularly relevant to the moral standing of the US in Latin America, Africa, or Asia, and it was far secondary from decades-long support for Israel in the Middle East. IE, the conflict regions of the Cold War, where US amorality or real politic were most personally known and a matter of living memory. The US standing circa 2003 was 'winner,' and possibly 'benefactor,' but not 'liberator.'

By remainder, the rest of the world leaves Europe- where the strength of views of the US intervention in Iraq largely hinged on alignment with the French and German objections and failed efforts to unite the continent in diplomatic opposition- and the US, whose views of the morality of the US largely tended to hinge on who was in the White House at the time. And, of course, the extension of americanized politics that cross those bounds.

Rather than the Americans losing moral standing in the world, Iraq was far more a shift in certain Americans losing their belief they had moral standing in the world.