> doing it is slow and expensive, so there is insufficient political will to do it
So the US Navy is unable to achieve the objective in a reasonable timeframe and cost. That's the same as failure.
So the US Navy is unable to achieve the objective in a reasonable timeframe and cost. That's the same as failure.
Hell there's an argument to be made that the US should downsize its military because there's no universe in which exercising its full capability is not either the end of the world as we know it or absolute political suicide.
Would that work in corporate America? Try telling your boss, "I didn't actually fail because had you given me an unreasonable amount of time and resources I would have succeeded." Every project has an expectation of time and cost, and if you can't meet that expectation then you failed.