interesting answer.
although i'm not so convinced that europes situation can be pinned down entirely to political leadership, for the people themselves are far less tolerant of 'justifications' for warmaking, which has an impact on the policy options available to our political masters.
likewise, the meforum author notes many of the flaws you point out and still manages to conclude that culture can be deemed at least partly responsible for poor performance in modern warmaking. i.e. those training deficiencies result from, or are exacerbated by, those cultural traits.
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