The question is about what "winning" means for the people who start wars and keep fighting them. It might not be the same as for you.
To quote Julian Assange, "The goal is to use Afghanistan to wash money out of the tax bases of the US and Europe through Afghanistan and back into the hands of a transnational security elite. The goal is an endless war, not a successful war".
I just don't buy that line of thinking at all. If that is truly their goal, there are way easier and subtle ways to do it without causing a collapse in political capital for the parties and politicians involved, which the Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars did.
Such as? What other mechanism makes it possible to pay 700 billions per year to the private sector for something that the taxpayer can't see, because it's secret?
Medicare for All would cost well over $4 trillion per year according to the Lancet. That would be going to privatized hospitals, doctors, big pharma, medical consultants, supplies, equipment, diagnostics, lab companies etc...
But I would point out to you that the military's budget is $700B regardless of whether the US is engaged in foreign armed conflict or not, and half of that is personnel costs like salary and housing allowance. Only about $300B goes to procurement of all types (weapons, clothing, food, cleaning supplies, fuel, paint, etc...)
To quote Julian Assange, "The goal is to use Afghanistan to wash money out of the tax bases of the US and Europe through Afghanistan and back into the hands of a transnational security elite. The goal is an endless war, not a successful war".