Breaking: If conditions of WAR change, so must we—enough is enough!
America’s political leadership must be clear about the purpose of every conflict that puts our people, our security, and our resources at risk.
What outcomes are we trying to achieve?
What conditions would tell us the mission has succeeded?
Who will verify those conditions?
These are practical questions. In the Middle East, military action must serve a defined political objective along with a path to ending the fighting. In Europe, every American commitment should be measured against a realistic prospect for peace. We should know what we are asking our allies to do, what negotiations are meant to accomplish, and what would allow the United States to reduce its involvement responsibly.
A strike can destroy a target. Another shipment can sustain a fight. Neither, by itself, tells us how a war ends. If circumstances change or the objective proves unreachable, we must have the discipline to reassess, and if necessary, change our course.
Continuing along the same path because we have already invested so much is not a strategy.
The American people deserve a clear account of what is at stake, what success requires, and what it will cost. Our men and women in uniform deserve to know that their service is tied to an achievable mission. We must be as determined in the pursuit of peace as we are in the conduct of war.
