User:Tristancater08/sandbox2

A Forever War is a political science term for a war that appears to have no end in sight. Also known as a perpetual war or an endless war, forever wars are caused by constantly expanding goals in a war, such as fighting against more countries and/or groups than originally intended or planned. It is usually used in reference to a war that the United States is involved in. Some examples of "forever wars" include the Vietnam War, the Iraq War , and the War on Terror. The Iraq War is especially notable for being a "forever war". American politicians such as John McCain noted that the United States could stay in the war in Iraq for "one hundred years... or even...one thousand or ten thousand years".

Causes
Forever wars can happen for a variety of reasons, such as military or political reasons.

Military
Poor military planning is one of the major reasons that a forever war can occur. If the territory gained in a war is not occupied/controlled properly, this allows a deadly insurgency to occur, thus potentially stretching out a war that never ends, which is termed as a forever war. Similarly, warfare that is fought irregularly, such as rebellions in Africa, do not have a set of military objectives in mind, usually because these rebel groups intend to commit war crimes against the civilian population. Thus, the lack of actual military goals can in itself be a reason that a forever war can occur. As well, a very large defense budget may also be a factor in the transpiration of a forever war. This allows a country to fight several forever wars. As of 2018 the United States has a high military budget that is larger than their budget for World War II, allowing for inflation, which enables them to fight wars for forever in Iraq and other countries. The idea of a forever war can also extend to civil wars. Simply, civil wars can last for a prolonged period of time whenever a military stalemate occurs between both sides.

Political
One major political reason as to why a forever war can occur is due to the lack of democracy in a country, as this makes a country more likely to become engulfed in a civil war. Politically, forever wars can occur in order to keep money flowing into institutions, such as the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex (MICC). Thus, forever wars can serve as domestic political engines. The continuous changes in capitalism in globalized markets influences policy makers. This, in turn, causes the policy makers to promote policies of continuing and expanding wars. As well, forever wars can be used by small armed groups in an attempt to wear down a larger group or country. For example, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the beginning of the War on Terror, Al-Qaeda attempted to get the United States involved in a prolonged guerrilla war in Afghanistan, or in other words a forever war. The reason for this was to destroy American will to fight such a long war, and ultimately force the United States to not only withdraw from Afghanistan, but from the Middle East as well. Thus, forever wars can be started in an attempt to achieve political goals for armed groups.

Other Reasons
Wars that are between ethnic and/or ideological groups can also be a cause of a forever war. This is because these wars are harder to end with a negotiated peace deal due to the different interests of the two sides as it is difficult to meet the demands of both parties.

As well, financial support for a rebellion or country, such as rebel groups selling illegal products or taxing civilians on one side of the conflict can cause a forever war, as the financial assistance allows rebellion groups to be able to fight longer with more supplies.