Europe

I get the impression that the leadership decides on what they want to be true, and then just selectively fits the facts to reach the conclusion. You gotta remember that the 90s were the formative years for these people. The Soviet Union fell apart, the US became the undisputed world power, and they could literally do anything they wanted. And this went on for decades. The idea that the US could do anything it puts its mind to as long as there's enough will has become deeply ingrained with the decision making class. The world has slowly changed, and the US has lost its primacy, but all these people are still stuck in that brief unipolar moment thinking that if they just manifest hard enough, then they can get what they want.