[Ghoulish Delight]

What's shocking to me is people who seem to believe there's some sort of "either/or" situation here. Either it's the insurgent bastards fault or it's our fault. Sorry, the world ain't that clear cut. Actions have consequences. And to understand those consequences, an honest assessment of the situation is necessary. And the honest assessment was NOT done prior to invading, and here we are. There are some evil people doing evil things in an environment that was blindly created by our military decisions.

I don't suggest looking backward for the purpose of laying blame. I suggest looking backward for the purpose of getting the people who have made blind decisions in the past to open their eyes and make informed decisions going forward. That's why I find it so important to try to get Bush and company to admit that they made a mistake, because until they do that, I have zero confidence that they won't make the same mistake again. I have zero confidence that they are looking at the situation in Iraq objectively and honestly. And without that, I have zero confidence that they will make decisions that result in anything but continued violence between Iraqis and death of American troops.

Do I know that pulling our troops out is the best decision? No. I don't have the knowledge to be sure. What bothers me is that it seems like even if someone WITH the knowledge to make that call were to come to that conclusion, Bush would ignore them because it doesn't fit his short term agenda.