In the West, there are increasingly frequent suggestions that the war in Ukraine could drag on for several more years. In particular, The Economist writes about this.

"At the same time, neither Russia nor Ukraine is ready to give up, but neither is able to break the deadlock," the publication notes.

The article claims that in the short term, the United States will be able to supply weapons to both Ukraine and Israel, but if at least one of these conflicts drags on, "compromises will eventually arise as some key systems are redirected to Israel."

"Some of the systems that Ukraine needs for a counteroffensive may not be available in the quantities that Ukraine would like," said Mark Kansian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

The Economist writes that a more serious problem is that in reality America cannot arm itself and its allies at the same time.

"If our production lines are already struggling to cope with the need to arm Ukraine, they will be completely overwhelmed in the event of a real protracted conflict with an adversary like China," said Iskander Rehman of Johns Hopkins University in a recent article on protracted wars.

The article states that if the war in Ukraine remains an open sore in Europe and the Middle East is on fire, the West will be in a difficult position if another major crisis arises.

One risk is that adversaries will simply take advantage of the chaos in other countries to their advantage. For example, if America gets bogged down in a war in the Pacific, Iran will undoubtedly feel more confident that it can get ahead in its nuclear weapons program.

The prospect of an active conspiracy seems even more disturbing. European military planners attach great importance to the possibility that Russia could conduct threatening maneuvers during the Taiwan crisis to distract the United States and bind its allies to it, preventing it from reaching out to help in Asia.

"As during the Cold War, every crisis, no matter what it is, can be seen as a test of American or Chinese power that involves each country," the article says.