I’m not sure what your point is. The author is not suggesting we surrender, just pointing out that we can no longer get by defending our positions.
We have to counterattack and take back ground already lost to the enemy.
Recognizing that we are in the process of losing is the first step in analyzing what is necessary to turn things around.
In a somewhat similar situation during WWII, Vinegar Joe Stilwell had to deal with his PR-types who tried to portray the retreat from Burma as something less than a defeat.
“I claim we got a hell of a beating,” Joe told the press. “We got run out of Burma and it is humiliating as hell. I think we ought to find out what caused it, go back and retake it.”
I am sorry that you didn’t get my point but your last two sentences pretty much make me think that you did.
LLS