Why are we having a difficult time winning in Iraq and Afghanistan?

The thing to remember here is we still have occupation forces in Germany and Japan from WWII and in Korea. It is unrealistic to think we can invade a place that is as different in social atmosphere as can be from us and be done in a couple of years.

Our Values, beliefs and cultural values compared to the Pashtuwali beliefs and cultural norms.....are just different.

Our Government and our society...
Both place personal agendas and restrictions on our military that ensures we do not completely defeat any enemy...

I am not sure we ever really wanted to win. Knee jerk reations to events do not work, neither does telling our "enemy" we are leaving on a specific day.

That is really a hard question to respond to as in the first place one should define winning. We outgunned them all and if we had wanted to do a scorched earth to these areas we could have brought the smoke. BUT if you are referring to the "hearts and minds" part then that was something the folks doing the advising should have been more schooled on. As my experience from multiple deployments indicated that the regular civilian didn't know what to do with this new found "freedom" and we were at fault especially in Iraq with not knowing how to fill the power vacuum we created by disbanding the army and political machine.

I want to say thank you folks for all the great inputs.

Lack of resolve and staying power on the part of our civilian leadership.

Because we are not at full disposal to do so. Instead this administration has one hand and leg tied behind our backs.

With Iraq and A'stan the issue goes way back to the US anti-soviet policies. This is where our alignment with certain parties begins to create friction. In the case with Iraq Prime Minister Gen. Abd al-Karim Qasim and in A'stan the mujahedeen battling a Soviet-backed government in Kabul. The current problems are long in the making. Both of these relationships resulted in war. when Qasim pulled out of the Baghdad Pact regime change efforts where put into motion and in A'stan when the pro-Soviet Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) asked for the the Soviet Union to aid the government. In Iraq this led to the rise of the Saddam and the anti-communist Baath Party. This put into motion the Iraq and Iran war. As well there where similar efforts in Iran to keep the Soviets at bay that resulted in the Iranian Revolution. All of this is preceded by the British and French influence in the region. All of this is over the strategic importance of oil. While the anti-soviet measures may be considered a success the policies which brought this about have greatly destabilized the region and in our wake ISIS and the Taliban filled the void. What may have prevented this is a SOFA in the likes of Germany, Japan, and Korea after the Gulf War as well in A'stan.

We did exactly as we said we would do. Remove a brutal dictator, remove wmds (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/14/world/middleeast/us-casualties-of-iraq-chemical-weapons.html?_r=0) and establish a democratic government. Iraq had a powerful military with modern day equipment, plenty of training and a $90 billion surplus. The new government convinced us that they had it under control. Sounds like a win for me. But now that they have lost control all of the sudden we failed? Now they want us back.
When I was in Iraq, we worked with Iraqi army everyday. When they would get to their post they would hang all of their gear, flak, Kevlar and ak on the wall then lay down on some sandbags and pass out for the 4 hour shift. Not all of them but most.
There are videos and witness accounts all over the Internet that show Iraqi soldiers leaving a fortified position, armed with M4s and full body armor. Surrendering to men in civilian attire holding an ak. After they are disarmed and their body armor is removed they are executed. There is no will to fight. I don't have an actual reason for why that is. I have ideas but nothing set in stone. Maybe it's because we came into country as oppressors instead of liberators. Maybe they don't know of any other type of life. Maybe they're tired of fighting. Regardless, the US took their country back and handed it to them on a silver platter. What they do with it after that is up to them.
What do we do now? Establish and maintain a permanent American presence? Keep out of any conflicts and let them take care if it themselves? I don't know. I'm just a former enlisted pog.