Why is it so hard for the U.S. to win wars?
This analysis examines why the U.S. struggles to achieve long-term political success in its military conflicts, despite overwhelming initial firepower. Experts argue that the U.S. fails to plan for post-war stability and prioritizes military force over diplomatic solutions.
Why it matters
The article provides a critical look at U.S. foreign policy and the limitations of military intervention in achieving geopolitical goals.
The U.S. has been at war for more than 20 of the past 25 years in three major conflicts all in the same region. First, Afghanistan, then Iraq, now Iran.
U.S. presidents said overwhelming American miliary firepower would decide all these wars swiftly. Under President George W. Bush, the U.S. military needed just weeks to oust the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001 and President Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2003. Under President Trump, the U.S. bombing campaign, assisted by Israel, killed many of Iran's leaders on the first day of the war and hammered the country at will.
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