We haven’t won a war with total goal of winning it since 1945.
Either you fight to win (and take the booty) or you build up your materials and men and prepare to show your enemies you are ready. You don’t send out troops to be killed with no winning plan.
Too many generals are ignoring or ignorant of Sun Tzu
We don't fight wars anymore, period.
Instead, for the last 50+ years we have been doing nothing more than sending our military to take sides in civil wars all over the world. And we've been doing that because our elected leaders in Washington have been selling themselves to foreign interests for all that time.
You can't "fight to win" by destroying the enemy when the whole purpose of a military campaign is to help one side in a civil war get control of the government without destroying the place.
“Only a fool gets involved in a land war in Asia” - attributed to Douglas MacArthur (one of Trumps heroes btw)
To many politicians, generals and admirals think you can fight a limited war, control your involvement and actually win. It happens rarely, maybe Desert Storm being the only one I can think of since WWII.
If it is not in US national security and you are not prepared to do what you have to do to win don’t do it. LBJ knew he couldn’t win a land war in Asia in a conventional fight based on sheer numbers alone without nukes but listened to the we can fight a limited war crowd and we all know the results.
The only way to stop the islamic nazi’s is to go to total war mode. Destroying whole cities and regions, men, women and children. You hurt them so bad they decide hey I don’t want to mess with them, they will kick my ass and split my skull and my wife and kids as well. It’s dirty and brutal but war as Sherman said is hell and despite the limited warfare proponents fantasy’s you cannot refine it and win.
Try our Presidents.