Yes to all of the above they certainly are. But failure to learn from the inevitable failures in a war is a part of defeat. The president seems to be getting this and is putting out a good plan. Better late then never.
This is a gambit which is late arriving on the scene. I support it. I worry that the troops hands will still be tied and that will doom the effort. My initial comment was "the level of brutality necessary to subdue the Islamists is not something the old USA can muster up the courage for". Fighting house to house will generate casualties not victory. Eventually the solution will be nuclear, no amount of house to house will get Islam's attention. I expect that soon Israel will have to break out the nuclear inventory to protect itself and re-fashion the Iranian landscape. If Iran goes nuclear, these Islamic nutcases will drop one somewhere. Al-Sadr is still alive, when he is dead I will know Bush is serious and we have a chance in Iraq. He has little time. 2008 can bring devastation to the USA as the fifth column takes control of the WH.