it's a start, if america's allies are willing to back up the usa because they feel its in their benefit, and if america's rivals and enemies finally realize that a nuclear iran is not a price worth paying for the frustrated, humiliated and crippled america they want. but if that had been the case earlier, it already would have happened, wouldn't it? the same thing is going on in n. korea.

america is going to have to realize that it can't make things happen just because it wants them to, at least in areas that are outside its sphere of influence. it has to make it worthwhile to others, too and get them to cooperate, by either bribery, force, or deal, and all three use up resources of some kind. america may be the last superpower, but it is no longer dominant in the world as it was in the last half of the 20th century. from now on, if it wants something, its going to have to pay some kind of price. this is what is called diplomacy. obama understands the rules of the new game. whether he can actually play it well remains to be seen.

it's not obama's fault, or bush or clinton's either, for that matter. america
is simply running low on political, diplomatic and economic chips to play, for a variety of reasons. it's not the first time this has happened to a great power, and its not going to be the last. hell, even football teams develop over the years until everything comes together, then they go into decline. there is an arc to history, and the usa has just peaked. it may recover and grow in influence again, it won't be the first time that's happened either, but there are no guarantees.

the only area where the usa is still the undisputed leader is in military power.
and even america's friends worry about that, maybe not right now, but for the future. a great nation suddenly on hard times, with a population not used to them, and with great military resources, may be tempted to play that card to get back what it feels it deserves. even your friends who don't believe that has happened yet are afraid it might. bush scared the hell out of the rest of the world, obama seems an improvement, but who knows what he'll do if he feels cornered? and who knows what the next guy, regardless of party, will do.

george soros talks at length about this in his last lecture. he understands. you may disagree with the details of his analysis, or in his proposed solutions, but surely you can see why he feels the way he does. he's not just making it up because it will help his investments.