How Will Wars End In The 21st Century

U.S. Marines and sailors conduct a security patrol near Patrol Base Boldak in Helmand province, Afghanistan, May 21, 2014. The Marines and sailors, assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, conduct patrols to maintain trust and communication with the local Afghan population. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Michael Dye

'This Is How Wars End In The 21st Century' -- Major Garrett, National Journal

The new unsettling normal of victory.

In a sun-splashed Rose Garden, warmer and more humid than that sun-splashed September morning of horror in September 2001, President Obama declared an end to the war in Afghanistan provoked by al-Qaida's atrocities.

It had about as much fanfare as the science fair Obama celebrated hours earlier.

"I love this event."

Obama said that about whiz kids and their science inventions in the East Room, not his decision to decide exactly how and when to end the nearly 13-year war in Afghanistan.

"I think Americans have learned that it's harder to end wars than it is to begin them," the president said, restating a truism embedded within Pentagon planning at least since the Korean War. "Yet this is how wars end in the 21st century—not through signing ceremonies but through decisive blows against our adversaries, transitions to elected governments, security forces who are trained to take the lead and ultimately full responsibility."

Read more ....

My Comment: If history is any indication .... the concept of unending wars or wars that end with no clear cut resolution is nothing new. Quite often these situations evolved because both sides were of equal strength or power .... or the stronger side did not have the political will to exercise their strength and power in a more brutal fashion that would have ended the war decisively. Case in point .... Genghis Khan did not have the manpower or resources to hold onto his empire .... but he did have the will to use his resources to exterminate his opponents and to threaten extermination against those who may have revolted against his rule. Since the end of the Second World War the U.S. has also had the same power to fight and win in every-war that it has found itself in .... but to mobilize millions of soldiers and to use the full weight of its arsenal to exterminate and eliminate the opposition has never been politically acceptable by it's politicians .... and more importantly .... by it's people. Hence we fight limited wars with rules of engagement that soldiers in the past would have regarded as being totally unacceptable. But this all can be changed in a dime. If .... hypothetically .... we have nuclear bombs going off in New York City, Washington D.C., Miami, Chicago, and Los Angeles .... and it is found that Iran was involved in this action .... we will then revert to our historical instincts of fighting total war .... and Iran will be exterminated into obedience for the simple reason that we will make sure that there would be no one left to oppose us.

War has always been our nature .... and once those mental restraints on how we fight are removed .... the destruction that it can unleash is truly amazing .... and in the 21st century .... with the nuclear/chemical/and biological technology that is now available .... it would resemble the razing of Carthage or Troy .... but on a global level.