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The Reality of Defeat

The Waning of American Hegemony

Stephen F. Eisenman
June 7, 2026

In justifying the American attack on Iran a few weeks ago, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth admitted it had nothing to do with nukes, ballistic missiles or the shooting of unarmed, youthful protesters: “When someone tells me for 47 years that they want to kill us, I think I am going to take them at their word.”  If the 45-year-old former TV anchor remembered the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979, it was via epigenetic inheritance.

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Stephen F. Eisenman is emeritus professor at Northwestern University and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of East Anglia. He is the author of a dozen books, the latest of which (with Sue Coe), is titled “The Young Person’s Illustrated Guide to American Fascism,” (OR Books, 2014). He is also co-founder of Anthropocene Alliance. Stephen welcomes comments and replies at s-eisenman@northwestern.edu

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