Above all, the USA are a ‘superpower’, and thus raising its kids as kids of a superpower. Which means that certain things are super-self-understanding, and the kids should neither know nor think too much. Thanks a lot.
For example, ever since the Secessionist War of 1861-1865, the USA are fighting all of its wars in form of massive material battles (or ‘battles of attrition’). They’re, literally, ‘drowning’ their opponents in masses of own equipment, ammunition, and the resulting firepower. Correspondingly, not only most of the US public, but even US military officers expect everybody else to fight the same way.
Sure, the latter might be perfectly aware of necessity for finesse in fighting wars, but: their ability to actually apply these is, just like their ability to emphatise with allies – equal to zero. They’re dogmatic and checklists-tied in their way of thinking, and they haven’t fought this kind of war since 1945. Thus, except for few honourable veterans I happened to run into over the time, people there really have no trace of an idea what is it to fight this war in Ukraine of (meanwhile), 2022-2023 (and beyond)…
However, at least to me, all of this is still ‘understandable’. Something I think I can comprehend, and even explain. What’s really astonishing is a host of other facts.
Like in so many of their own wars, Americans – especially such ‘super brains’ like Biden’s national security advisor (a lawyer by profession, BTW), not to talk about countless ‘US officials providing commentary on condition of anonymity’, persistently quoted by above-mentioned media-platforms – are once again doing exactly the same mistake they already did in places like Vietnam, Afghanistan, or Iraq. They’re trying to ‘model the outcome’ – instead of seeking for ways to win the war. Correspondingly, they’re supplying Ukraine with ‘enough to hold out’, but not with ‘enough to win’ - only then to complain that Ukrainians are not doing ‘things’ they expect them to do, and even less so the way they want them to do.
