A familiar commentary is taking shape in the wake of recent wars in the United States and Israel. The wars did not achieve their stated aims. The threats were not eliminated. From this, a further conclusion is often drawn, sometimes explicitly, sometimes by implication: that the campaigns were lost, and that their adversaries prevailed.

The conclusion feels natural. It is also mistaken.

It rests on a confusion that distorts how modern conflicts are judged: when a state does not eliminate a threat, it is said to have failed; when the adversary remains standing, it is said to have won. Both conclusions collapse under closer scrutiny. They confuse endurance with victory and limitation with defeat.

Modern conflict does not produce total outcomes. States pursue results—deterrence, stability, the........

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