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One could ask similar questions about the Americans, or the Russians. America hasnt won a war since 1991. Russia hasnt won since WWII. Winning wars, as opposed
by kjellsbells 17d ago
One could ask similar questions about the Americans, or the Russians. America hasnt won a war since 1991. Russia hasnt won since WWII.
Winning wars, as opposed to just battles, requires such an intense emotional commitment to the state being fought for that people are willing to die for the mission. That extends not just to combatants but the citizenry and polity behind them. Few wars of the modern era meet the bar. Wars of national survival may do, so long as the (defending) political class dont screw it up, eg by internal corruption.
tl;dr is that a state should not start a war unless they are prepared --truly prepared-- to finish it. I guess that's why so many politicians shy away from the word "war" to something else.
- halJordan 16d agoAmerica has won every war it's fought since at least Vietnam. Your convoluted extended definition of winning would mean that Germany never defeated Poland or France. Or the British never defeated the Irish. It's really a testament to how blithely lethal the US military is that you look at the wholesale destruction of one of the largest, most effective non-superpower states in the world and can honestly say out loud "the US didn't win the Iraq war"
- kjellsbells 16d agoLethality doesnt mean winning, otherwise Vietnam would have been over in a month and the shock and awe of 2003 would not have been followed by ten years of battling with Iraqi militias. As for Afghanistan, as candidate Trump said in 2012, "Afghanistan is a total disaster. We don't know what we are doing." [0] - not exactly winning. And what do you know, the Taliban are back in charge after he negotiated a settlement. [0] https://x.com/realdonaldtrump/status/179270017064513536 https://x.com/realdonaldtrump/status/179270017064513536