Why Wars Last Too Long

Professor Stephen M. Walt, of Harvard University, has written a non-technical article for Foreign Policy with the intriguing title: "Top 10 Reasons Why Wars Last Too Long." I think his reasons are mostly accurate, and he buttresses them with examples from recent history. Here are a couple of his reasons:

1. Political leaders get trapped by their own beliefs.
5. The people who got you into the war aren't the ones who can get you out.

As you'd expect, national pride and the military's dislike of losing get mentioned, too. I believe some of Walt's ten reasons are really restatements of others, but his article is still worth your time and effort.