Quote Originally Posted by Pol-Mil FSO View Post
The elites by and large seem to share the American public's belief that there is a magic bullet or at least an obvious answer for any problem. They just do not seem to be able to come to grips with the idea that some problems can only be addressed by looking for the least damaging of a set of disagreeable options, or that there may not even be a viable solution (e.g. peace in the Middle East).

I also see a disturbing inability to "connect the dots." Outside of a small minority, does anyone understand that the United States became and remains the most powerful nation in the world through past and present pursuit of deliberate policies and exercise of power and influence? Have any of the withdrawal advocates examined the possible second and third order consequences of a U.S. withdrawal or even retrenchment in Afghanistan? I have not seen any efforts to lay out a strategically literate and intellectually credible cost and benefit analysis for withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Of course this is how it works. We've discussed some of the reasons that the US isn't able to really "do" grand strategy before, and I'm convinced that the American fascination with technology and science leads to the "silver bullet" strategy with "one solution to rule them all." I would also contend that this blindness isn't an exclusive American trait by any means.