I understand the idea of having a pro-western country in the heart of the middle east, but I've been really wondering lately why we keep pussy-footing around here. I agree with Bush that this is a war and has been for a long time. But for some reason we keep arresting these assholes and sending them to prisons. I think that these folks only understand pain and fear and will eagerly follow the one with the loudest voice. I doubt we can win their hearts and minds.
Too late now to cut and run, but this will continue to be a quagmire as long as we keep up the facade of being peacekeepers.
I've seen many comparisons to Vietnam, but the one that sticks out is how Nixon (who inherited a Democratic war) finally stopped listening to the "police action" crap and launched Operation Linebacker intending to bomb the North to the peace table. Many years later, North Vietnamese authorities admitted they were close to giving in when "Deep Throat" (that great American hero) brought the Nixon administration down and the fallout cost the lives of millions of innocents.