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Of course Vietnam was thought about. It just wasn't imaginable that we could lose. I'm not changing the subject, just pointing out that there are consequences to going to war versus the alternatives. We could have done nothing in Vietnam and had the same result with a lot less tragedy. You are going to say it's an obvious truism and not applicable, but it's a clear example of war's unpredictable outcomes.

I have always said we would win the war but could lose in the longer run once we are tied down in the country. The military threats posed by civil war, Kurdish independence, Iran's and Turkey's possible involvement is enough to convince me that there could be very unpredictable outcomes. Not to mention Islamic takeover, chaotic uncontrolled areas that can harbor terrorists, threats to the oil supply, etc.

Of course Vietnam was thought about. It just wasn't imaginable that we could lose.

It "wasn't imaginable"? Sure it was. Anyway, we didn't "lose" that war.

I'm not changing the subject, just pointing out that there are consequences to going to war versus the alternatives.

Wow, thanks professor. I DIDN'T KNOW THAT!

Talk about condescending. Nobody BESIDES YOU has given this any thought. Nobody BESIDES YOU knows that there are consequences to going to war versus the alternatives. Don't you know how condescending you are being? Truly irritating; you don't even grant your opponents the common courtesy of assuming they've thought this through. If they disagree with you, they haven't thought it through - QED. That's your story and you're sticking to it, right?

Get real. Other people besides you have brains, in case you didn't know.

We could have done nothing in Vietnam and had the same result with a lot less tragedy.

I'm really not interested in discussing counterfactual alternative histories here. It really is an attempt to change the subject on your part. You do seem a little hung up about Vietnam, and perhaps that is coloring your view here, I don't know....

I have always said we would win the war but could lose in the longer run once we are tied down in the country.

I see. That's your opinion, and it's duly noted. Thanks for sharing. We'll see what happens.

... is enough to convince me that there could be very unpredictable outcomes.

Argh. OF COURSE there "could be" "unpredictable outcomes". Even the most hawkish of hawks would agree with this. After all, just exactly when is this not true? No war, no foreign policy move, and indeed no human endeavor is completely free from the possibility of unpredictable outcomes. That's life.

Again: yours ("let's not fight a war if there could be unpredictable outcomes") is an argument for never, ever fighting a war. Whether you know it or not.