In Desperados: How the United States Lost the War on Terror, I unravel the complex web of decisions, mistakes, and missed opportunities that led to the United States' defeat in the War on Terror. From the moment the towers fell on 9/11, the nation was thrust into a global conflict it was ill-prepared for: the battle was seemingly lost before it even began. Through in-depth analysis, I will explore the unclear objectives, the failure to address the root causes of 9/11, and the moral decay within the U.S. political and military leadership that set the stage for a humiliating defeat in a battle lost at an agonizingly slow speed over twenty years.