Re: My question/comments below as to how “victory” is defined — in no small part to recognise when we get there — was not only for me a major question and omission from this speech and the approach for that two decades which has left us in the sewer of Afghanistan without a way out. Just this morning, I am reading that Seb Gorka, an outspoken and clear-thinking member of the Administration, has resigned for that very reason:
Quote from Gorka’s resignation letter: “Just as worrying, when discussing our future actions in the region, the speech listed operational objectives without ever defining the strategic victory conditions we are fighting for. This omission should seriously disturb any national security professional, and any American who is unsatisfied with the last 16 years of disastrous policy decisions which have led to thousands of Americans killed and trillions of taxpayer dollars spent in ways that have not brought security or victory.”