Sad, isn't it? We have a defense budget that is larger than the next 5 nations put together, yet we can't decisively beat an enemy stuck in the 9th century.
As General Sherman once said, “Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster.”
Our wars end in the latter because our generals and leaders demand on the former. Ease for the nation and safety for the troops are noble ideas, but when they’re your #1 goals, you are destined to lose. And here we are.