THE TROUBLE WITH PROXY WARS: some thoughts on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We did not win because our leadership, abetted by Washington policy intellectuals, is more interested in political effects in Washington than strategic victories in the Middle East. Seen in this light, the only American victory in the region is a pyrrhic one, the bitter harvest of which we may well be reaping for many years to come.

I can’t say I agree with Smith’s arguments in toto, but he’s on the mark in asserting that the Washington establishment has walked away from the true meaning of victory, accepting “moral victory” as a pale substitute.