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> Actually, they [the Japanese in 1945] were near the breaking point. <

True enough. But without both A-bombs they still would not have surrendered.

> The principal reason this war is dragging on is because we haven’t taken the gloves off. <

I certainly agree with that. And that’s 100% on Bush II. Right after 9/11 the entire West was with us. America was united. NATO was ready to be activated. But instead of total war, Bush decided to go with a mushy blend of police-action and nation-building while the Taliban was still unbroken.

But wait. It gets worse. Bush then decided to invade Iraq. That would be as if FDR decided to invade Russia soon after Pearl Harbor. Bush II did perhaps irreparable harm to this country. He can go straight to... (I better stop here).

[That would be as if FDR decided to invade Russia soon after Pearl Harbor. ]

That would be as if FDR had decided to fight Germany. But even that’s a stretch, by at least an order of magnitude. Both of these wars are booger-sized conflicts compared to even the war with Japan, whether you’re talking about % of the economy, men involved or casualties. The reason they’ve lasted this long is similar to the reason that the Indian Wars lasted 3 centuries. They’re guerrilla wars and we don’t systematically exterminate the civilian supporters of the guerrillas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Wars

No president could, even before the Geneva conventions. The Chinese can and the Russians can. But we can’t.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzungar_genocide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Lentil_(Caucasus)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circassian_genocide#Expulsion

This was the closest we got:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears#Choctaw_removal

If we expelled the Pashtun plurality to Pakistan, the Taliban would probably die with their departure. But current mores mean no President could issue such an order, and expect to have it obeyed. So we muddle on.