The War Is Not Meant To Be Won

Reflections on America's "Forever Wars"

July 25, 2026

The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous.

-George Orwell, 1984

Of all the evils to public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops every other. War is the patent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes. And armies, and debts, and taxes, are the known instruments for bringing the many under the dominion of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds are added to those of subduing the force of the people ! No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.

-James Madison, Political Observations, 1795.

WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives."
― Smedley Butler, War Is a Racket

We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes.

-President Dwight Eisenhower, Farewell Address, 1961

This morning I compiled a list of the known US military interventions abroad. I write known because many acts of US government agency violence are covert and never published.

China (1945-1949): U.S. Marines and forces assisted Nationalist authorities in disarming Japanese troops, controlling key infrastructure, and protecting/evacuating Americans amid the Chinese Civil War against Communists.
Korea (post-WWII occupation into early conflict): Occupation of the South and responses to insurgency.

1950s

Korean War (1950-1953): Full-scale U.S.-led UN intervention against North Korean invasion of South Korea; later Chinese intervention. Peak U.S. forces exceeded 300,000; over 36,000 U.S. killed in action.
Taiwan Strait crises (1950s, notably 1954-1955 and 1958): Naval deployments (Seventh Fleet) and evacuations to deter People's Republic of China attacks on Taiwan/Formosa and offshore islands.
Lebanon (1958): Marines and troops landed at the request of the Lebanese government to counter internal unrest with external support.

1960s-1970s (Vietnam era and related)

Vietnam War (advisors from mid-1950s; major escalation 1964-1973; related operations into 1975): Large-scale combat against North Vietnam and Viet Cong in South Vietnam; peak U.S. forces ~543,000. Included extensive bombing of North Vietnam (e.g., Rolling Thunder, Linebacker), the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and secret campaigns.
Laos (1960s-1975): Covert and overt support, bombing, and operations against Communist forces ("Secret War").
Cambodia (bombing from late 1960s; ground incursion 1970; Mayaguez incident 1975): Campaigns against Communist sanctuaries; 1970 U.S./South Vietnamese ground operation; 1975 rescue of the SS Mayaguez involving combat with Khmer Rouge forces.
Dominican Republic (1965): Operation Power Pack-thousands of U.S. troops intervened during a revolt amid concerns over Communist influence.
Smaller support actions (e.g., airlift/logistics in Congo/Zaire in the 1960s).

1980s

Iran (1980): Operation Eagle Claw-failed special forces attempt to rescue U.S. embassy hostages.
Libya (1981 Gulf of Sidra; 1986 Operation El Dorado Canyon): Aerial engagements (Libyan jets shot down) and airstrikes on military/terrorist-related targets in response to attacks and terrorism.
Lebanon (1982-1984): Marines as part of a multinational force; naval bombardment of positions during the civil war and after the Beirut barracks bombing.
Grenada (1983): Operation Urgent Fury-invasion to oust a Marxist government and protect U.S. citizens.
Persian Gulf / Iran (1987-1988): Operations Earnest Will, Praying Mantis, and related actions-naval escort of tankers, combat with Iranian forces/mines/platforms during the Iran-Iraq War.
Panama (1989): Operation Just Cause-invasion to remove Manuel Noriega; largest U.S. combat operation since Vietnam up to that point.

1990s

Persian Gulf War / Iraq (1990-1991): Operation Desert Shield/Storm-massive coalition campaign to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait; followed by no-fly zones and enforcement actions against Iraq through the 1990s (including Operation Desert Fox in 1998).
Somalia (1992-1994): U.S.-led intervention (UNITAF/UNOSOM) during civil war; included the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.
Haiti (1994): Operation Uphold Democracy-intervention to restore elected President Aristide.
Bosnia (mid-1990s) and Kosovo/Yugoslavia (1999): NATO airstrikes (e.g., Deliberate Force, Allied Force) against Bosnian Serb and Serbian/Yugoslav forces.
Afghanistan and Sudan (1998): Operation Infinite Reach-cruise missile strikes on al-Qaeda-related targets after embassy bombings.

2000s-2010s

Afghanistan (2001-2021): Operation Enduring Freedom and follow-ons-invasion and long war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda after 9/11; included special operations, airstrikes, and ground combat until withdrawal.
Iraq (2003-2011): Operation Iraqi Freedom-invasion to topple Saddam Hussein; occupation and counterinsurgency. Later operations against ISIS (from 2014).
Counterterrorism operations (ongoing from early 2000s): Drone strikes, special forces raids, and support in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Philippines, and elsewhere against al-Qaeda, affiliates, and later ISIS/al-Shabaab.
Libya (2011): Operation Odyssey Dawn / NATO intervention-airstrikes enforcing a no-fly zone and supporting rebels against the Gaddafi regime.
Iraq and Syria against ISIS (2014-present, Operation Inherent Resolve): Airstrikes, special operations, and advisory support. Additional strikes against Iranian-backed militias.
2020: Drone strike killing Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in Iraq.

2020s (selected)

Continued operations against ISIS remnants, al-Shabaab, and other groups in Syria, Iraq, Somalia, and elsewhere.
Yemen (notably from 2024 onward in response to Houthi attacks on shipping): Airstrikes and related actions against Houthi targets (often coordinated with partners).
Iran: February 28, 2026 to present.

Can anyone provide a plausible account of how any of these military actions have done anything for the vast majority of American people-that is, people who do NOT receive substantial income from the military-industrial-complex?

Note how the astonishing record of failure to achieve constructive political outcomes has done NOTHING to dampen Washington's appetite to continue attacking and killing people abroad.

The people who support President Trump's infernally stupid war against Iran either don't understand or don't care about the true interests of "We the People" of the United States of America.

I frequently receive emails from friends trying to persuade that I am wrong about this, but they have no plausible explanation for how the Iran war serves "We the People" of the US, nor do they demonstrate much understanding of history or military affairs or the cost of America's forever wars.

Instead of demonstrating understanding, they proffer me crude propaganda talking points. I am confident that none of them would risk their own lives or the lives of their children to subdue Iran.

Indeed, were it not for the delusions generated by debt financing and air power, they would see the Iran War for what it is-a preposterously ruinous and criminal enterprise waged by a senescent President who has no coherent strategy, and who is too beholden to his ego and his billionaire cronies to serve the interests of We the People.

The last time the American homeland was threatened was in 1814 when British forces occupied and burned much of Washington D.C.. Since then, the enemy hasn't been at the gates; he's been in our heads.

The greatest threats to national security and public health and safety are not external. They are produced by the plundering racketeers and manipulators on Capitol Hill who profit from fear and division.

As I show in Chapter 3 ("War, the Father of All Mind Viruses") of my new book, the archaic fear that we are being threatened by a mortal enemy is the cause of most of mankind's self-inflicted disasters.

This article was originally published on The Focal Points.

lewrockwell.com

USA