It's all Clinton's fault! He forced us to attack Iraq!

No accountability, no admission of failure, no attempt to govern, no awareness on how to run a war. But when the house of cards comes tumbling down about their ears, the Republicans play the blame game.

Bryan at Why Now? shows how those who never have fought in a war run one disastrously:
"Veterans realize that the units in Iraq are not trained or equipped for occupation or the training missions they have been given. They are front line combat units, not civil affairs people. Non-veterans are probably not familiar with the difference. The Army had to create the Combat Action Badge to recognize the reality that many people are not doing to the job they were trained for, they are acting in a totally different specialty. The Marines are moving around the deserts of Anbar province in amphibious vehicles and the swamp ready vehicles of the Louisiana National Guard were not available for use after Katrina, because they were also left in the desert. These are things that veterans know because of their experience and training that non-veterans don’t know.

The “all volunteer military” is being subjected to “stop loss”, recalls and extensions that are definitely not voluntary. There is a “back door draft” going on that affects those people who thought they had a hard and fast contract. Members of the National Guard and Reserves are being destroyed financially by unexpected and extended call-ups that weren’t mentioned when they volunteered. There has been no effort to relieve any of these problems by expanding the regular forces. Veterans understand these details and worry about them, non-veterans don’t know what we are talking about or what the effects are."

Attaturk points out that the WarOnTerraandBringingDemocracyAtTheEndOfAGun now has been going on longer than WWII:
"America's involvement in Iraq will reach that milestone at a time when the clamour for withdrawal has never been louder, and the possibility of achieving it has never seemed so difficult. The decisive end of World War II in 1945 delivers no lessons that could be applied to a very different war in a very different era.

If anything, things seem to be getting worse, the options less appealing. Baghdad is reeling from the deadliest assault on Iraqi civilians since the start of the US invasion in March 2003. At least 200 people died and more than 250 were injured after six car bombs, mortar attacks and missiles battered the Shiite Muslim slum of Sadr City."


Glenn Greenwald on how the insurgent Iraqis have time to plan their attacks to influence US elections:
"So, to recap: when insurgents engage in violence before the elections, that's the fault of Democrats because it's done to help them win (and credit to Republicans because it shows how tough they are on The Terrorists). When the insurgents engage in violence after the elections, that's also the fault of Democrats because they are excited by the Democrats' success (and credit to Republicans because Republicans want to stay forever, which makes the insurgents sad and listless). And when there is no violence, all credit to Republicans because it shows how great their war plan is.

Put another way, no matter what happens in Iraq (violence increases, violence decreases), and no matter when it happens (before the election, after the election), it is the fault of Democrats and it reflects well on the Republicans. Isn't it fair to say that that's the very definition of the mindset of a cultist?"