Excellent article! It's one thing to make a good argument but another thing all together to explain a legitimate disconnect between reality and rhetoric. I feel like this article achieves the latter. I think the Iraq war especially was completely unjustifiable but unfortunately there's no undo button so we need to be realistic about managing the aftermath.

This gets to the fundamental problem with the “endless wars” or “forever wars” talking point. It is an example of strategic narcissism, framing these wars purely through the lens of American decision-making. It implies that the only party keeping these conflicts going is the U.S.

The author is a consistent critic of many aspects of the wars the US engages. This article will offer some nuance.