I consider “but ordinance” a red herring. One need only observe the recent history of US military adventurism to show that a sufficiently determined insurgency

I consider “but ordinance” a red herring. One need only observe the recent history of US military adventurism to show that a sufficiently determined insurgency with light arms and minimal training can take literally decades to surpress even with probably numerical superiority. The US government is unlikely to carpet bomb its own territory even after hypothetically sliding into tyranny because it would presumably want territory to rule afterwards. What is left is intense urban fighting which we’ve seen in Iraq or wilderness fighting in poor terrain like Afghanistan. It doesn’t end quickly so the cost is a deterrent.