I just finished reading an article about Afghanistan in the Huffington Post. Although its author, Stewart Nusbaumer, was mostly referring to Afghanistan in the article, what he said also appears to apply to all modern warfare, including various wars fought by Israel -- thus giving me some insights into why Israel lost its war in Lebanon two years ago, why it is losing its war in Palestine right now and why it most likely will lose any future war it might declare on Iran.
According to Nusbaumer, "Not everyone, of course, but many, including many in our government and the military, are finally realizing guns and bombs are of limited utility in winning modern wars. ...Slowly, incrementally, reluctantly, haltingly, a different thinking on how to fight modern wars has gained acceptance. These new ideas existed in Vietnam, but General Westmoreland ran the show, and he adhered to the old thinking rooted in World War II." Nusbaumer then goes on to surmise that the old World War II strategies don't work any more. Running up a body count just doesn't work. Nowadays, winning wars is all about winning hearts and minds.
Hearts and minds.
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