Feet Of Clay And Iron

Many of you have read this Biblical prophecy and wondered what it could mean:

And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Daniel 2:41-44 KJV

What it suggests to me is contained in the phrase "distant quagmire".

Our military forces ("the strength of iron") have been kept by our government in distant quagmires such as Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan ("mixed with miry clay"), so that our kingdom has been partly strong and partly broken:

http://www.politicalmetaphors.com/2013/08/24/mired-in-gridlock-metaphors-of-swamps/

"Boots on the ground" have become "boots mired in a swamp": a fitting metaphor for brave men and women on a fool's errand:

http://dissidentvoice.org/2013/04/why-is-the-united-states-really-in-afghanistan-2/

You may also have read this Biblical prophecy and wondered about it, too:

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

Revelation 13:2 KJV

What it reminds me of is the following:

• Our national anthem is based upon a Dionysian drinking ballad. The leopard was the sacred animal of Dionysus.
• The officers of our "boots on the ground" are trained at the US Military Academy at West Point, which is located at the foot of Bear Mountain in New York.
• Should our next President be Hillary Rodham (a.k.a. "Magna Mater" Clinton), she will symbolically represent the goddess Cybele, whose sacred animal was the lion.
• Considering the path which China is on, that nation is likely to be the earthly power behind the beast; and as we know, the dragon is the symbol of China.