” We didn’t lose because we didn’t have the will or capacity to win, or were afraid of the sacrifice. We lost because because our evil politicians refused to let us win.”
Exactly.The war in Vietnam was won by the South. North Vietnam’s General Giap even said so. The South Vietnamese Army was in complete control of every South Vietnamese province.
Then the Democrats defunded U.S. aid to the South in order to use the “savings” to fund welfare. The result was the collapse and massive slaughter of South Vietnamese and Cambodians.
The other biggest mistake technically wasn't Bush's, but played into and re-inforced the above. Congress should have formally declared war. That it was war was obvious when the second plane struck the second tower. I then phoned my parents, awoke them, and told them "war." It was Pearl Harbor redux. But, IIRC, fewer than 5 in Congress, were willing to declare the obvious. The rest were either cowardly unwilling or were hiding behind the difficulty of defining the unconventional enemy. The other side had no such problem in defining our side as their unconventional enemy. I see no requirement in history that wars be formally fought and only against nation states. It was a complete and unnecessary failure of Congressional imagination. If the leadership wasn't sure how to write the declaration they should have asked Democratic Ways and Means staffers if they would define the enemy so as to tax them. I guarantee they'd have an answer in short order which both Rats and RINOs would support. Substitute "war" for "tax" and you have a Declaration that the Right would support for the right reasons and the rest would support out of familiarity and habit.
Then have State take that Declaration to NATO and everyone else with whom we had mutual defense treaties and declare them triggered. Many on our side would have been surprised to find themselves fighting WWIII, but many putatively on the other side would be shocked to find themselves defending it and want out. Offer them President Grant's initials, just as FDR did in WWII, and the eventual chance, like Italy, to formally switch sides. Those that take it and comply make easy victories. Those who take it then don't, make into good examples. Point out that their side set the terms of engagement with the still smoking rubble piles in DC and NYC; any better treatment for their population is purely at our whim. State's next, and more difficult, job would be getting Russia and China on board as limited allies, or at least keeping them as co-operative neutrals.
Having a Declaration would refocus priorities on the home front and make fighting opposition to the war effort there easier. The media could be censored. Those caring too much for the enemy wouldn't stay unindicted. Treason would be easier to prove with the "enemy" predefined. Profiling potential enemy supporters for pre-emptive restraints could be considered. Read Michelle Malkin's book on the subject before reflexively saying Reagan was right and FDR wrong regarding such pre-emptive actions by FDR during WWII.