Everyone I’ve talked to who’s been over there, and most of the guys I’ve read, are more optimistic than you. What’s you definition of losing the war? Who did win, since we lost?

What is being accomplished is a slow process. Building a civil state from the ground up takes time. Building professional police and military from the ground up is slow. The US Army has over 200 years of tradition, and can train its people in a very secure environment at West Point, and it still takes 4 years to get the lowest level officer ready to go out in the field – at which point he gets led around by a senior noncom with several times as much experience. The American government took seven years to junk the Articles of Confederation, and they weren’t being shot at. Iraq has a written constitution, its government has broad popular support, and its enforcement ability is growing – all thanks to the efforts of American servicemen, including those whose graves you spit on by saying little has been accomplished.

It’s not over. It will be if we give up and go home. The Americans can go home. Our allies in the Iraqi government are home, and will still have to deal with the terrorists, the criminals, the militias, and the Iranians no matter what we do. If the Iraqi people know we will help them as long as they want it, but will leave when asked, their resolve will be strengthened. People like yourself, who would rather hurt Republicans than help people trying to establish something like a free country, make it more likely that our allies try to cut a deal with our enemies before they’re abandoned by us. That would leave Iraq and us worse off.

You have an interesting definition of ‘allies’, if you think most US allies were never involved. Who are you talking about?