What Part of 'War' Don't We Understand? What Part of 'War' Don't We Understand?

Thoughtful article: RealClearPolitics - Articles - What Part of 'War' Don't We Understand? by Robert Tracinski about the War on Terror. I esp. liked this talking about Iran and Syria:

Consider the incentives we have created for these two regimes: the more trouble they cause for us--the less likely we are to attack them. The more they attack us, the more secure they are from our retaliation. This is the opposite of a rational strategy.

What makes this possible is the crippling effect of two fundamental errors in our thinking: myopic short-range Pragmatism and crippling altruistic self-doubt.