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At this point, we're both speculating, but I'm glad to know you're not among those rooting for failure so they can yell, "I told you so!"

Who are these people who are rooting for failure? Are these the anti-American Americans (those....anti-American..liberals!)I keep hearing about on demagogue radio (but who I can't seem to find?).

I exaggerate. I suspect that there there are some identifiable Americans out there whose criticism of wrongheaded American policy is so strident that it starts to take on an anti-American cast. That "Noam" guy. But if I look at the sometimes contrarian opinions of say, the recently departed Ms. Sontag, I don't see an "anti-American". I see an increasingly precious part of critical political discourse that is slipping away in favor of fascist-flavored media labeling and bombast.

Am I *rooting* for failure? I think Rush et al work pretty hard to equate *predicting* failure with rooting for failure. I feel a responsibility to predict failure if that is my conviction. Do I wanna tell my sisters "Oh, don't worry about <my nephew>, cuz it's all going to work out great in Iraq?" Should we not opine/predict? When placing the country in a complete lose/lose situation, it is pretty hard to predict success (although we seem to have a pretty good supply of functionaries who try!). Should I try to predict success like the starry-eyed Rumsfelds and Condis?

The good news? Jim is not going to get personally killed in Iraq. As things go badly, will I be here saying "I told you so"? Oh, you bet. I wouldn't want anybody who dreamily imagined that this huge cockup was anything but that to be able to kid themselves. Wrong yesterday. Wrong tomorrow.

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Afghanistan was called a quagmire and "the next Vietnam" too. I'm glad they were wrong on that one.

Some people predicted quagmire, I guess. But many fewer people opposed that war initially on basic anti-war grounds even though we went to war without acknowledging some key facts about our enemies, "allies" and possible strategies and costs.

Karzai isn't called the "Mayor of Kabul" for nothing. Afghanistan is part of a region. I don't think it can be treated as a compartment separate from places like Pakistan. We made some mistakes and then made some bigger ones -- diverted focus. As Derrick suggests, the country is not secure. Not only has the Fat Lady not sung, I don't think her costume is back from the cleaners yet.
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Jim


'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.