Recent reports have strongly suggested that the US not only did not know how to win the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, at some point they weren't trying to 'win' any more.
Iraq is a quagmire, with the US reentering to defeat ISIS and now staying permanently for the forseeable future to restrain Iran.
Afghanistan's war is now officially multi-generational, with 2001 children now eligible to fight in their fathers' war.
These wars have been sustained by massive spending and the use of mercenaries. Is this sustainable? From a historical perspective, great powers exhaust themselves by extensive warring and this contributes greatly to decline.
Trump campaigned on ending these wars, but a serious look at how government actually works will show that at best his power as commander-in-chief is limited, and he is always struggling with agencies and advisors. One big question is can he actually successfully change the status quo in his second term, when he has thus far failed in his first?
Iraq is a quagmire, with the US reentering to defeat ISIS and now staying permanently for the forseeable future to restrain Iran.
Afghanistan's war is now officially multi-generational, with 2001 children now eligible to fight in their fathers' war.
These wars have been sustained by massive spending and the use of mercenaries. Is this sustainable? From a historical perspective, great powers exhaust themselves by extensive warring and this contributes greatly to decline.
Trump campaigned on ending these wars, but a serious look at how government actually works will show that at best his power as commander-in-chief is limited, and he is always struggling with agencies and advisors. One big question is can he actually successfully change the status quo in his second term, when he has thus far failed in his first?
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