I am not going to rag on Mike S. By all appearances he does not have a military background be it uniformed or within the wider defense and intelligence community. Like all too many Americans he has probably forsaken the study of history, particularly militiary history. However, rather than dismiss him, I prefer to educate him. Failure in war is often more frequent then success even for the victor. Mike, I suggest you read Cornelius Ryan’s “A Bridge Too Far” which covers the Allied Operation MARKET GARDEN conducted in September 1944. It is a primer on what can go wrong in war.

The idea that a battle can be planned and executed as in a script is a Hollywood fantasy. It is well known maxim to military planners that the plan does not survive first contact with the enemy. Success in war requires you to improvise, adapt and overcome. The side that does this best wins. Americans now expect military operations to go off like a script in a movie with the outcome predetermined. When faced with reality they become pessimistic and brand the operation a failure. Since we are at war, learn about war by reading military history.