30 Years? That's hilarious!

[malthaussen]

32. Well, see, it depends on your definition.

Actual conventional large-scale military maneuvers took very little time, and that was what they were talking about with 'the war will be over in six weeks" and even the "Mission Accomplished" noise. Nobody in power cared much about what came after the conquest... err, Liberation. All that "the people will greet us with open arms" and "the war will be over in six weeks" nonsense was just to pacify the marks. Wasted effort, really, since they paid no attention to the will of the people anyway when they embarked on their adventure.

You may recollect that when William Sherman asserted at the beginning of the Civil War that the thing would take years to resolve and involve enormous losses in lives and treasure, he was adjudged insane and relieved of his command. No country ever wants to admit that their proposed war will take years. Remember "Home Before the Leaves Fall" in 1914?

-- Mal