Actually, while I am very much a diehard on the subject of how the government should absolutely not be allowed to lie to its people, this one I have to give them.

Win every battle, and when you can't, do your best to make sure nobody hears about it.

I don't want insurgents knowing that their attacks have worked. I don't want them doing the math and thinking, "Hey, for fifty bucks worth of explosives we can take out this piece of equipment that costs, like, a gazillion times as much. At this rate, we could do to the western world what the western world did to Russia!" Then you get fights like Vietnam. I hate those. Very bloody and basically neverending ... what's worse than that?

On the other hand, I'm not sure how you actually keep the other side from finding out about it, and if you don't, then you're only covering it up from your own people to keep from admitting your mistakes. And that's not okay.

But this business where the military is constantly claiming victory even after a loss ... well, it's annoying when their lapdogs do it on the message boards, but I can't blame them for doing it at all. As long as they're lying to the enemy, and not to themselves.