Recent events have once again exposed the real balance of power. Advanced intelligence, air superiority, technological precision, and coordinated strikes made clear that disparities in military infrastructure, economic capacity, technological sophistication, and global backing remain immense. The side applying the pressure retained its structural advantages. Its larger position remained secure. The heaviest damage, as so often happens, was borne inside the region itself, by Muslim populations, fragile states, and already strained societies.

And yet each new escalation still generates the old euphoria in some circles, as if the collapse of a great power were just around the corner. In practice, however, these crises tend to end where such crises often end: at the negotiating table, where the actual balance of power has already defined the outer limits of what can be demanded, resisted, or conceded. There may be drama before the end, but the end itself is usually written by hard realities.

The deepest cost, however, has been borne........

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