[tialaramex]

> That is debatable. What was the last war it won?

Because war is the continuation of politics by other means, the objectives of a war, and thus the criteria by which we can determine if it was won, are set by politicians.

Unless your country's politicians are the military this means that your military has no way to win wars unless politicians have chosen winnable criteria.

Corporate - the British operation to take back the Falklands is an example of a clear political objective, set by a politician (Margaret Thatcher, the UK Prime Minister) and achievable by military force. If the British kill millions of Argentinians, but must fall back and cede the island, Corporate fails. If the Argentinians shit themselves and run off once the carrier fleet sets sail, Corporate has succeeded with little loss of life. As it happens the British invaded the Falklands on foot, at considerable cost in men, but they won the day, the Falklands remains very much British.

When American politicians set vague objectives, or none at all, it is not the fault of the military when the war does not succeed.