Published on May 29, 2024, 1:05 am

As we reflect on the solemnity of Memorial Day, when we honor those brave American souls who sacrificed their lives for freedom and national defense, a potent question emerges: Is the West still oriented towards winning wars?

In the realms of military conflict, victory is the only valid justification for war. Without victory, all sacrifices made in its name tend to lose significance. If you fight a war without clinching triumph, it means human lives were bartered away with no tangible returns—the wasted treasure and expenditure of blood amount to naught. So, against this backdrop, can the West successfully wage and win wars anymore? It has been quite some time since the Western world tasted ultimate victory.

Reflecting on more recent conflicts like Afghanistan or the Iraq War, none can be classified as definitive triumphs achieved by Western powers such as the United States. Although the US emerged victorious in Gulf War I by liberating Kuwait from Iraqi dominance, that didn’t ultimately lead to Saddam Hussein’s collapse but rather brewed conditions precipitating Gulf War II. Since then—barring South Korea’s flourishing independence secured following an armistice post-Korean War—the West arguably hasn’t marked any significant military victories.

So why doesn’t America or indeed the broader Western world win wars anymore?

Three key conditions—to attain war-winning capabilities—need to be fulfilled. Firstly, there needs to be a clearly defined goal or end-game around which military strategies are formulated. However, our recent forays into various theatres haven’t been underpinned by concrete goals; instead existing nebulous constructs of ‘generalized’ victory are neither compelling nor clear enough.

The second condition necessitates robust military capabilities matched with strategic acumen to achieve these goals—a trait often seen lacking due to inadequate resources or overextension of existing capabilities resulting from efforts to streamline forces post-Cold War.

Crucially though, even if sound strategies and capable forces are marshaled effectively, achieving victory is highly contingent upon political willpower—often the most significant stumbling block. It’s quite evident that the idea of absolute victory and all measures needed to secure it, remain politically unpopular and therefore untenable.

The lack of public support and understanding around the reasons for engaging in particular wars—and indeed about the nature of war itself—can certainly pose an obstacle to achieving victory. This apparent disconnect stems from a failure to clearly articulate America’s strategic interests in these conflicts, often encoded under vague premises like “Democracy” or “Our Way of Life.”

If garnering and sustaining public support for a war is an objective, America must defend its undeniable interests by providing clear and comprehensible explanations. Alongside ideological elements, these interests need to resonate on practical levels involving things like supply chains, freedom of seas, spheres of influence, and resource allocations.

Unfortunately, insidious narratives emphasizing how America is a force for ill rather than good have been propagated within education systems over several generations. These misconceptions build a worldview that could undermine any future attempts at building national consensus or garnering public support during times of conflict.

Furthermore, as people increasingly disconnected from serving military personnel or active combat situations start shaping perceptions around wartime losses—it becomes easy to disengage from wars with minimal skin in the game except monetary contributions. It also becomes easier to initiate conflicts devoid of personal sacrifices.

However, what happens when we prematurely exit conflicts or attempt appeasement tactics aiming simply to forestall war altogether? The truth remains that without a change in current circumstances—America’s best hope is preserving status quo amidst rising global tensions and military conflicts.

We should not forget that our challenges on battlegrounds are less about the capability of our strong and heroic warriors but more tied up with wavering political resolve; media biases undermining the efficacy of valiant efforts; an educational system embedding anti-America hate speech; and ultimately—an American public weary if not wary of wars anymore.

The real concern is that America’s inability to win wars reflects a deeper affliction—the pervasive belief that our values as a nation are not worth defending with tenacity. The moment we as a country renounce the idea of winning wars due to self-perceived flaws and corrupt values—that is when our future hangs in the balance. Let’s hope, for the sake of those who have fallen in defense of our land, this does not become the undisputed truth.