It's easier to deny bad things than it is to face problems with only bad solutions. And anyone who tries to point out the reality will be called a defeatist.
I have had many discussions over the decades, presenting hypotheticals with no good answer--and I have found very few people who would even try to address the scenario as presented. They're always "misunderstanding" it in some fashion which allows a good outcome--and such "misunderstanding" can never be corrected because they are unwilling to contemplate the hard choice even when the choice is the best for all parties. (The assault team has taken the terrorist base--but there's a little kid reaching for his bottle that's holding down the deadman on the nuke. Nobody can reach him in time, do you shoot?)