This just came in. It’s a belated response to why so many people want the surge to fail. Even though I find his views despicable, at least he’s honest:

It's simple: If the surge succeeds, then the president, the Republicans and the Democratic supporters won't learn any lessons. In the USA victory only makes you more arrogant. Today Iraq, tomorrow Iran, Thursday Dafur, Friday Pakistan, Sunday Beijing, etc... Success would bring us into a state of perpetual war until we make a truly deadly decision. Making the same mistakes each time.

I think this writer speaks for a large portion of the opposition – they want America to learn a lesson. I’ve written in the past about a dinner guest who used that exact formulation to explain why he wanted the war effort to fail. Left unexplained is exactly how low they want to see America laid, and how many lives of the troops (that they of course whole-heartedly support) they’re willing to sacrifice so America becomes appropriately humble.

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