Comment by jfengel

1. No, the next administration cannot fix everything. A lot of what's being destroyed took decades to create. The loss in international credibility is permanent; the administration after that could well be exactly like this one.

2. We probably won't get into a civil war. I'd say the probability is no more than 5%. That's a bit like saying "There's a 5% chance that I'll into a traffic accident today, and I like those odds".

3. No, they will not change their minds. They will see any negative outcomes as the fault of their political and international opponents, and evidence that they need to do the same things harder.