What means this ‘wind down’ a war?
The editor’s page in the November issue of Proceedings begins with the phrase "As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down…." Putting aside the fact that the war in Iraq is not winding down, and no hit on Proceedings editor Paul Merzlak, what does that phrase mean? I mean, we all use it. I ...
The editor's page in the November issue of Proceedings begins with the phrase "As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down...."
The editor’s page in the November issue of Proceedings begins with the phrase "As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down…."
Putting aside the fact that the war in Iraq is not winding down, and no hit on Proceedings editor Paul Merzlak, what does that phrase mean? I mean, we all use it. I think I have used it, and I know some of youse have in comments on this page (because I checked).
As I read it, it occurred to me that this phrase has become very popular in the last couple of years, but I have no idea what it really means. If I had to guess, I’d invoke T.S. Eliot:
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
Almost like we just got bored with our wars.
Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1
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