In defense policy, timing often decides what is possible. Windows for change open during budget cycles, strategy reviews, leadership transitions, and crises, and they can close quickly.
Analysts speak of opportunity costs: choosing one option usually means giving up another. A program delayed by a year may cost more, a partnership not built in peacetime may be hard to create in a crisis, and a reform deferred may become politically harder later.
When reading debates about missed opportunities, check what the alternatives were, what constraints existed at the time, and whether the claim can be tested against evidence.
