I heard this on NPR on the way home from work, but I had to read it for myself before I would believe it. SecDef Gates on the problems in Iraq:
"I just think in some ways we probably all underestimated the depth of the mistrust and how difficult it would be for these guys to come together," Gates said.
It really pains me to say this, but not all of us underestimated these problems. Many of us, in fact, cited precisely these problems in our opposition to the surge. What I really do not understand, however, is why I, sitting here in my apartment in Boston, can see this so clearly, while the current Secretary of Defense cannot. After all, it isn't as if these problems are new. They were there before the surge, and they will be there after the surge.
So for the 10,574th time... For most of the people who live in the region, Iraq is merely a name, not an idea. It is not something they are willing to sacrifice for, nor is it something they are willing to die for. It was a creation of the British back in 1932, and then again following WWII. From then until 2003 it was held together by brute force, a situation that only changed when we deposed its ruler and handed it over to chaos. We broke it, and no matter how much we might wish otherwise, we will not ever put it back together.
There are no magical ponies. Wishing will not make it so. Eventually we must confront our mistake. Eventually we must come home.
UPDATE: Also worth noting... it is the job of our political leaders to imagine the unimaginable. When Sec. Rice says "no one could have imagined people would fly planes into buildings," and when Sec. Gates says "we probably all underestimated the depth of the mistrust," not only are they lying, they are admitting to a catastrophic failure in leadership that should, in a sane world, disqualify them from continuing to hold their jobs.
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