Posted on 09/06/2025 12:48:06 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
As he signed an order recognizing the Defense Department as the “Department of War,” President Trump said that the country “could have won every war, but we really chose to be very politically correct.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Pure politics
FACTS RIGHT THERE.
rather,
the US military has never been permitted to WIN a war for America (by USA’s political elite in office)
leave the soldiers sailors airmen to their tasks and they both can and will usually win and win decidedly too
HARD TO ARGUE WITH THIS
STORMIN’ NORMAN WAS PREVENTED FROM DOING THE RIGHT THING TO WIPE OUT THE TROUBLEMAKERS, IMO.
SINCE W W 2———
IN WW II-—
WE HAD PATTON
WE HAD EISENHOWER
WE HAD A COUNTRY THAT BUILT 100 B-17’s a day
WE WOMEN WHO FERRIED PLANES & RIVETED THEM TOGETHER
WE HAD MEN LIKE AUDIE MURPHY AND OTHERS-—HE IS CREDITED WITH 240 KILLS..
WE HAD PEOPLE WHO MADE INFLATABLE TANKS, ETC TO FOOL THE ENEMY
WE HAD RESOLVE WITHOUT THE STEERS & QUEERS INTERFERING——
WE HAD TRUMAN WHO DROPPED 2 BOMBS TO END IT ALL
THAT IS HOW WE WON.
AGREED
IN KOREA:
THERE IS ONLY A LONG STANDING TRUCE, IIRC.
THERE WAS NEVER A SURRENDER BY N KOREA
Wasn’t there a special forces operator who called in air strikes using a public pay phone?
I just remember a fellow student at Thomas Aquinas College, Dan Flynn, who announced to us in the cafeteria that the United States just invaded Grenada. We all asked, where is Grenada?
“In Korea, the objective was achieved.”
No, it wasn’t. It ended in a stalemate.
He said "since World War II."
The reason this country hasn't won a war since WWII is because the CIA didn't exist until 1947, and it's been downhill ever since. The U.S. has been involved in nothing but proxy wars since WWII. Korea and Vietnam were proxy wars with China and Russia. Ukraine is a proxy war with Russia. Since WWII, total U.S. victory was never the goal. As well, since lawyers have been placed in battle zones, our military has been stifled when it comes to the changing Rules of Engagement. Those JAG officers mainly conduct court martials, and make sure our troops don't offend our enemies.
I never thought “Winning Hearts and minds” was a good war strategy....
WWII -— 80% of German military losses took place on the Eastern front, vs the Soviets. 80% is just huge. The war was over in early 1942 when the German army surrendered at Stalingrad. The rest was mopping up.
It the idiotic neocon belief we could turn either into Western friendly democracy and nation building that failed.
Because politicians.
We won the war part of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. And, we won quickly in those wars.
It was sticking around to nation build that failed.
“In my opinion, our battlefield accomplishments were stellar, but we did not fully win.”
—————
Because politics is too important to be left to the politicians.
It was sticking around to nation build that failed.
Exactly. Screw nation building. Threatening to return works better.
All wars fought from WWII until the USSR dissolved were fought under the strategy of containment. George Keenan wrote what the US and Allies needed to do was “contain” USSR expansionism. Keenan said that Communist societies like the USSR would over time collapse on their own due to the economic and societal contradictions of communism. As far as the USSR goes that pretty much happened. The PRC is a different story worthy of a different discussion. It was headed to the rubbish heap of history but its leadership deftly played the West to where they bought time. They used that time to evolve into a different form of totalitarianism. One more fascist then communist in function but one that uses the trappings and rhetoric of communism. Different discussion is needed here for that!
Back to the Keenan strategy of containment it pretty much worked. We fought regional and proxy wars to contain at no point did we try to threaten the USSR directly. Meaning no invasion to force a WWII like victory. The cost of doing that would far far exceed what the “containment war” costed. Its good we didn’t try to do it. No WWII type of victory was possible. I do think we got trapped into the “containment mindset” preserve the “status quo” in all international confrontations. The First Gulf War is a good example of that. Our failure take advantage of certain opportunities set up the conditions for the second war.
Trump’s just engaged in rhetoric here to set the diplomatic table up for other things.
Yup. I think that is the message we should always be sending: “We have beaten you in war. We will be leaving now. You will be left on your own to pick up the pieces and rebuild your society. And you better pray that we don’t come back.”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.