Iran could be the US's Boer war: a hollow victory that marks the beginning of the end of empire | Larry Elliott

US leaders anticipated a walkover. Now they’re embroiled in a conflict that could hasten the end of US economic dominance Nobody gave the Boers a prayer when the war in South Africa began in 1899 . It was farmers ranged against the might of the British empire, and the expectation was that resistance would quickly crumble.