Leaders fear appearing weak. Militaries resist admitting futility. Allies watch for hesitation. Opponents test resolve.
The political space for compromise narrows as expectations harden.
Years after its release, Sedaka re-recorded “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” as a slow ballad. Same lyric. Same melody. Entirely different emotional weight. What once sounded buoyant became elegiac.
Wars follow that arc.
They begin in tempo and certainty. They end — if they end — in exhaustion and negotiation.
The first shot is decisive.
The last shot is negotiated.
Breaking up is hard to do.
Ending wars is harder.
Bibliography
1. Washington Post, “Neil Sedaka, pop craftsman behind ‘Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,’ dies at 86,” 2026. Obituary confirming Sedaka’s death and summarizing his career and cultural impact.
2. U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS), Vietnam 1967. Archival record preserving official references to “light at the end of the tunnel.”
3. Dartmouth Vietnam Project, Oral History of Denis O’Neill. Veteran recalling Walter Cronkite’s broadcast and describing the war as a “quagmire.”
4. U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, “Paris Peace Accords, 1973.” Official summary of the agreement ending direct U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.
5. National Archives, “Fall of Saigon, April 1975.” Documentation and photographic record of the U.S. embassy evacuation.
6. C-SPAN, House Committee Hearing, February 2003. Video record of Paul Wolfowitz stating Iraqis would be “greeted as liberators.”
7. Reuters, “Factbox: Iraq War – The Notable Quotes,” 2008. Compilation including Vice President Dick Cheney’s similar statement.
8. Linda J. Bilmes, Harvard Kennedy School, “The Financial Legacy of Iraq and Afghanistan.” Analysis estimating long-term war costs at $4–6 trillion.
9. Brown University Watson Institute, Costs of War Project. Comprehensive accounting of human, financial, and displacement impacts of post-9/11 wars.
10. U.S. Department of Defense historical summaries, October 2001 Afghanistan invasion. Overview of initial objectives and rapid fall of Kabul.
11. Reuters, “Taliban Take Kabul as U.S. Evacuates,” August 2021. Reporting on the collapse of the Afghan government and U.S. withdrawal.
12. James D. Fearon, “Rationalist Explanations for War,” International Organization, 1995. Foundational academic model explaining war persistence through uncertainty and commitment problems.
13. Carl von Clausewitz, On War. Foundational treatise defining war as politics by other means.
14. Reuters, “Iran Launches Retaliatory Missile and Drone Strikes,” 2026. Reporting on Iran’s response to initial U.S. strikes.
15. Reuters, “Pentagon Says Iran Campaign Will Not Be Endless War,” 2026. Coverage of U.S. official statements emphasizing limited objectives.