It is commonly believed that wars are won and lost on the battlefield; that wars have “winners” and “losers” irrespective of their political outcomes. For instance, it is this belief that causes Vietnam vets to claim that “we won the war but were betrayed by the politicians.” This belief is false. Wars are not sporting contests. The winner of a war is not the one who controls the most territory or has killed the most enemy soldiers. Instead, the winner of a war is the one who cause is furthest advanced by the outcome of the war. The Allies won World War II because Germany and Japan were thwarted in their efforts at global and regional dominance (respectively), not because we conquered Germany or forced the Japanese to surrender. The Confederacy killed more soldiers than the Union army, and successfully defended their capital throughout the war, but the Union won the war because the Confederate states were prevented from seceding and slavery was abolished.
Because wars are political tools and their outcomes are measured in political terms, sometimes the winner of a war is not determined until years or decades later. In that sense, I would argue that France lost World War I. In World War I, Germany was not trying to conquer France. They were fighting to continue their expansion of German influence throughout the European continent. France, with the help of their allies, won on the battlefield and forced Germany to surrender, but that victory failed to stop Hitler’s rise (and may even have encouraged it) and failed to stop Germany from pushing it’s expansionist claims again thirty years later.
And in that sense, I think it has become clear that Israel lost the Six Day War.
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