Humanity has forgotten how to conquer

Well, let me equivocate a bit. If humanity has forgotten how to conquer, it is because it has either found enough resistance to therefore not be able to conquer, or it has no will to do so.

It is, perhaps, my ignorance of time required to conquer; but then again, I can give two examples resulting in much the same non-result.

First, conflicts in Iraq/Iran or Vietnam. A complete conquer could occur. A retreat by the occupying country and therefore victory claim by the holding country doesn't equate to a conquer by the original. Depending on how one perceives the issue, the time spent in these conflicts may be relatively short. The result is simple: failure to conquer.

In a longstanding, ongoing civil war, and/or the genocides in Darfur, one fines the struggle both sad and frustrating. In essence, a long drawn out process with no clear winner, and the aggressor simply can't succeed.

One might ask or assume that I am a warmonger with no heart for the people involved. On the contrary. However, it is in my estimation that when one attempts to conquer, one should consider doing it completely, quickly, and decisively. Anything less is simply a waste of time, money, and lives.

I wonder, seriously, if the problem people are having with any war is that nobody wins. In the pithy words of the movie "War Games", "The only way to win is not to play". OK. That's true when you play to a tie. But I'm not talking about Tic Tac Toe or even Global Thermonuclear War. I'm simply talking about winning completely. If you haven't come out to win, you have already lost.