Winning a war is not redemption. If the declared aim is regime change, you are not merely removing missiles, you are choosing the shape of another nation's suffering. The death of a leader, even one you despise, does not conjure a better soul to replace him; it creates a scramble for power. In that scramble, cruelty is often a competitive advantage. If you tell a people 'rise up' while bombs fall, you offer them a terrible bargain: revolt now or be branded collaborators later. There is a kind of pride that believes force can manufacture virtue, and it is a pride that has ruined many causes. What would it look like to pursue security without worshipping violence as the only language?