--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If any overarching conclusion emerges…" description: "\"If any overarching conclusion emerges from the Afghan and Iraq Wars (and from their Israeli equivalents), it's this: victory is a chimera.\" — Andrew Ba..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f9/andrew-bacevich-26572_afghan_if-any-overarching-conclusion-emerges-fr_2143329.jpg" --- # If any overarching conclusion emerges from the Afghan and… ![“If any overarching conclusion emerges from the Afghan and Iraq Wars (and from their Israeli equivalents), it's this: victory is a chimera.” quote by Andrew Bacevich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f9/andrew-bacevich-26572_afghan_if-any-overarching-conclusion-emerges-fr_2143329.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f9/andrew-bacevich-26572_afghan_if-any-overarching-conclusion-emerges-fr_2143329.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f9/andrew-bacevich-26572_afghan_if-any-overarching-conclusion-emerges-fr_2143329.jpg) > “If any overarching conclusion emerges from the Afghan and Iraq Wars (and from their Israeli equivalents), it's this: victory is a chimera.” [Andrew Bacevich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bacevich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War outcomes in Afghanistan, Iraq, and similar conflicts reveal that true victory is an illusion, as success remains unattainable. **In simple terms:** Victory in war is a mirage. Key Takeaway Accept limits of military intervention. Themes war politics illusion policy history Mood skeptical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - military planning - foreign policy - public discourse Key Concepts strategic failure human cost political ambition Questions to Reflect On - What defines victory in modern conflicts? - How can policymakers set realistic goals? A Different Perspective The view may overlook partial successes or strategic gains. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghan/) [Afghan Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghan-iraq-4473195/) [Chimera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chimera/) [Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) [Conclusion Emerges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion-emerges-4473197/) [Equivalents Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equivalents-victory-4473196/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Iraq war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq-war/) [Israeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israeli/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory/) [Victory Chimera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory-chimera-4473194/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Commemoration of Pandita Mary Ramabai, Translator of the Scriptures, 1922 A memory of yesterday's pleasures, a fear of tomorrow's dangers, a straw under my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/commemoration-of-pandita-mary-ramabai-translator-of-the-scriptures/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [Just as the blurring between childhood and adulthood has produced the kidult, so the stretching of middle into old age has fostered another peculiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/just-as-the-blurring-between-childhood-and-adulthood-has-produced-the/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I believed that I was approaching the end of my days without having tasted to the full any of the pleasures for which my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/i-believed-that-i-was-approaching-the-end-of-my-days-without-having/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [In whatever system where the weight attached to the wheel should be the cause of motion of the wheel, without any doubt the center…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/in-whatever-system-where-the-weight-attached-to-the-wheel-should-be/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [It's not a matter of emancipating truth from every system of power (which would be a chimera, for truth is already power) but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/it-s-not-a-matter-of-emancipating-truth-from-every-system-of-power/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [The Void is not being, but not being cannot be, ergo the Void cannot be. 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The ordinary Afghan is sick and tired of it, because it's she or he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/we-could-form-a-government-of-national-unity-fighting-corruption-the/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) > [I do spend a lot of weekends on the road. I have to pace myself. It can be pretty busy, but I'm not out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sinise/i-do-spend-a-lot-of-weekends-on-the-road-i-have-to-pace-myself-it-can/) [Gary Sinise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sinise/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [If it is terrorism, if it is war on terror, then the Afghan people will join you on terror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamid-karzai/if-it-is-terrorism-if-it-is-war-on-terror-then-the-afghan-people-will/) [Hamid Karzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamid-karzai/) > [Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/because-iran-understands-afghanistan-far-better-than-americans-do/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Throughout the last century there were multiple attempts at giving Afghan women more autonomy, to change marriage laws, to abolish the practice of bride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/throughout-the-last-century-there-were-multiple-attempts-at-giving/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan to transform her own life and ended up revolutionizing the lives of many of her Afghan sisters. This book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-hamilton/deborah-rodriguez-went-to-afghanistan-to-transform-her-own-life-and/) [Masha Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-hamilton/) > [Mecca and Medinah is a very special place in the hearts of every Muslim but particularly for every Afghan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/mecca-and-medinah-is-a-very-special-place-in-the-hearts-of-every/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) > [ The president \[Barack Obama\] decided to leave more troops than he had originally planned in Afghanistan. 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