Washington’s failed gamble shows how far the global balance of power has moved What a difference a year makes! Last June, in the wake of the first joint Israeli-US attack on Iran, a joke was making the rounds in the Middle East. It described a bartender welcoming an American, an Israeli, and an Iranian into his bar, offering them beers and saying: “Congratulations, gentlemen; you have all won.” Not so this time. There’s no question that there is only one winner in the second war against Iran: