Not to be contrary, but lack of conviction means a refusal to win. By the sheer aresenal of our military, the wars can be won in less than 24 hrs. But, mutually assured economic destruction is still guiding our actions.
I’m familiar with military operations; the same arsenal that couldn’t defeat North Vietnam (and has improved by 40 years of advancements to our weapons systems) still isn’t going to do much to a more de-centralized, wilder bunch of pagans. Read about the effects of the bombing campaigns during the Vietnam War, and realize that it couldn’t go on forever: it was unaffordable, and lost f0r the same reason Britain couldn’t hold the 13 colonies. How long can you project force halfway around the world on a population that doesn’t want you there? At least George III had some loyalist support in the colonies; we have no such thing.
Iraq was a quick conventional victory because it was a manageable terrain ideal for a war with low casualties; when we actually had to stay on after the conventional war it was a whole different ballgame. Instead of clinging to the skids a la Saigon 1975, we simply scurried out under cover of darkness (no iconic photos) and declared victory.