I think it's quite possible that Iraq is simply a strategic blunder. I mean if the war went how a lot of us thought it would, I'd be all for it. Charge in and topple Saddam's government, free millions of people from tyrany, establish a middle-eastern ally, get the oil contracts to western allies, and George gets to go down in history as the president who brought freedom to the people of Iraq!

We're entering a new era with a new type of war, one where toppling a government doesn't mean winning a war any more. WW1 had poor strategic ideas like charging the German trenches over the plaines, just as wars were fought before the 20th century. I think the Iraq invasion once again had the military psyche stuck in the past, thinking all they had to do was smack down a government and the war is over. And once again, we've learned the hard way that tactics have to change.