HOWEVER, if we continue to enter wars we have no intention of winning, as we have done since Korea from what I can tell
When the Romans would finish suppressing a rebellion, they would crucify thousands of rebels. The result was that there was peace in that region - for many decades to come. They did this not because they enjoyed killing, but out of a certain understanding of human nature.
Otoh, every time Israel would be about to win a war, it was forced to snatch a neutral outcome out of the jaws of victory. Naturally, the hostilities in the region never stopped, and keep threatening to get worse.
I think the recent military history - and behavior of combatants - were determined by two factors: WWII and the nuclear weapons. Every time there is a conflict, there is Fear of Escalation. We are afraid to cause the end of the world.
As for WWII, I think everyone is still shocked by its brutalities - on the part of the nazis, of course, but also things like bombings of German and Japanese cities, which were needed in order to break the fighting spirit of the enemies. One of the results is that the entire world lost much of its fighting spirit. Nowadays, avoiding civilian casualties almost seems to be a more important priority than victory.
Certain wars probably cannot be won - like Afghanistan. At this point, it is almost impossible to define what would constitute victory in that war. |
