Iran

[tw]

Originally Posted by Luce

Before you can even contemplating "winning", you have to have some sort of victory condition established.

Exactly. In order to justify war, three things must exist. These were repeatedly listed here in the Cellar even before George Jr started the Mission Accomplished war. That long ago.

First, a strategic objective must exist. WWII was won because the strategic objective was clear, bluntly stated, and hostilities did not end until that objective was achieved: unconditional surrender.

Second, there must be a smoking gun. That smoking gun is surprisingly unknown to many if not most Americans today - Pearl Harbor.

Third, plans for the peace must exist well before hostilities end.

Vietnam. None existed. So that war was lost and well known as lost by 1966.

Mission Accomplished had no strategic objective. Those WMDs were total fiction - all US intelligence agencies could not find any. They were invented by Cheney, et al.

Second, there was no smoking gun. Nothing (but a lie) justified Mission Accomplished.

Third, there was no planning for the peace - no phase four planning - no after action orders. Only CPA orders 1 and 2 that resulted in 5000 dead American servicemen.

So yes, a strategic objective, et al must be clearly defined even before the very first attack. Desire only disappears when these three critical factors do not exist. Without them, victory cannot happen.