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Former congressman and longtime peace advocate Dennis Kucinich joins Robert Scheer for a stark assessment of what he calls the most perilous moment in modern U.S. foreign policy. With Washington openly coordinating military action with Israel and escalating toward direct confrontation with Iran, Kucinich argues the United States has reached the terminus of its imperial project — a point where decades of overreach, militarism, and economic decline collide. Drawing on his years in Congress fighting unauthorized wars, he warns that the killing of Iran’s leadership, the collapse of diplomatic credibility, and the fantasy of American omnipotence have created a crisis with no clear exit. Scheer and Kucinich trace the roots of the disaster from the 1953 coup against Mossadegh to Trump’s current campaign of regime change, asking whether Iran may become the graveyard of American empire — and what it means for a world no longer willing to accept U.S. dominance.
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America at the End of Empire? Dennis Kucinich Warns Iran Could Be the Graveyard of U.S. Power
Former congressman Dennis Kucinich joined Robert Scheer for one of the most urgent and unflinching conversations in Scheer Intelligence history. What emerges is a portrait of a superpower stumbling into a conflict it cannot control, driven by an alliance it cannot restrain, and guided by a worldview increasingly detached from geopolitical reality.
Kucinich, long known as Congress’s most consistent voice for peace, argues that the United States has reached the “terminus” of its imperial ambitions. With Washington now openly coordinating military action with Israel and escalating toward direct confrontation with Iran, he warns that the U.S. is entering a phase of global overreach it can neither sustain nor justify.
Scheer, who has covered war and foreign policy for decades, frames the moment bluntly: this may be the most dangerous point in modern international relations — a convergence of American decline, Israeli expansionism, and a collapsing global order.
The Empire Hits Its Limits
Kucinich begins with a stark assessment: the U.S. empire is running out of road.
“America is reaching the end of its road of empire. Iran might be the graveyard of our empire.”
He points to 800 U.S. military bases worldwide — not as defensive outposts, but as instruments of economic control. With the rise of BRICS and the weakening of the dollar, he says the unipolar era is over. The U.S. can no longer dictate global outcomes through force.
Scheer agrees, noting that Washington’s reliance on military power has grown as its economic competitiveness has declined. The U.S. no longer manufactures the world’s technology, cannot build basic infrastructure at home, and has ceded entire industries to China — yet continues to behave as if it can impose its will through bombs and sanctions.
A War Built on Illegality and Illusion
Kucinich argues that the escalation toward Iran violates both international law and the U.S. Constitution.
“There was no imminent threat. This is a war crime — several war crimes.”
He notes that the administration acted without congressional authorization and without meeting the legal threshold of imminent danger. Worse, he says, the strikes occurred during peace talks — an act he calls “treachery.”
The result is a total collapse of U.S. credibility.
“Iran rejected a ceasefire proposal because they cannot believe anything the United States says.”
Scheer adds that this is not new. From the 1953 CIA coup against Mohammad Mossadegh to the installation of the Shah to decades of sanctions, the U.S. has shaped every major turn in modern Iranian history — usually with disastrous consequences.
Israel’s Ambitions, America’s Compliance
A central theme of the conversation is the unprecedented degree to which U.S. policy now tracks Israeli strategic goals.
Scheer puts it bluntly:
“Israel has gone from David to Goliath. This is a new Israel — an empire in its own right — and the U.S. is acting as its enforcer.”
Kucinich agrees, arguing that Washington is no longer acting independently but is instead being pulled into a conflict Israel has sought for decades.
The killing of Iran’s leadership, he warns, has unified the country and inflamed Shia communities worldwide — creating the conditions for a prolonged religious and geopolitical conflict.
“We have incited jihad. We may be on the brink of a new holy war.”
A Catastrophic Misreading of Iran
Kucinich stresses that U.S. policymakers fundamentally misunderstand Iran.
“There is no understanding of Persian culture, no understanding of their technological advancement, no understanding of a people who are fearless.”
Iran is not Iraq or Libya. It is a large, unified, technologically sophisticated nation with decades of preparation for exactly this scenario. The idea that the U.S. can install a new government is, he says, “magical thinking.”
The Collapse of American Capitalism and the Turn to Force
Scheer argues that Trump — and the political class more broadly — has given up on the idea that American capitalism can compete globally. The U.S. no longer makes the world’s technology, cannot build high‑speed rail, and has lost manufacturing to China and others.
“We don’t make anything anymore. We can’t even build a train from L.A. to San Francisco.”
China, meanwhile, builds high‑speed rail across continents, dominates solar power, and expands trade through diplomacy rather than force.
Scheer’s conclusion is stark: the U.S. has fallen back on the one thing it still does well — war.
Militarism Meets Its Breaking Point
Kucinich argues that militarism is hitting its natural limits.
“The world isn’t buying it. People want cooperation, not domination.”
He notes that Trump’s budget would push up to 80% of discretionary spending toward the military — a model that is economically unsustainable and politically toxic.
The U.S., he says, is discovering that it cannot control the world, and the attempt to do so is accelerating its decline.
A War the U.S. Cannot Win
Kucinich’s final warning is the most sobering:
“We cannot win this war. We don’t have the resources. Iran can defend itself. This is a calamity of great significance.”
Scheer agrees, arguing that the U.S. is acting like Rome in its late stage — decadent, overextended, and delusional about its own power.
The Core Message
- The U.S. empire is collapsing under its own weight.
- The Iran escalation is illegal, reckless, and strategically disastrous.
- Israel’s long‑pursued confrontation with Iran is now driving U.S. policy.
- Iran is unified, prepared, and far more capable than U.S. leaders admit.
- American militarism is hitting its limits as economic power declines.
- The world is moving toward multipolarity, and U.S. dominance is fading.
- This conflict could mark the end of the American imperial era.
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