I've been doing a lot of speaking with academics, recently, about military culture.

One of the disconnects I've run into is why "victory" is so important.

I've got the whole "survival of the species/tribe" thing, but the typical response is kind of a blank look of misunderstanding as to how that is relevant to today's "more enlightened" world. That and the whole "neo-imperialist/evil occupiers" thing....

So, why is it imperative to "win", especially in a COIN conflict?