[Red6]

You're completely correct in your views.

It's "all" about perceptions at this point.

Even the nation building is coming along at a pace that is without parallel. How long has it been? 3 years and we are seeing a new Iraqi Army, Constitution, elections, judicial system, operating courts, Police, Saddam is caught, AQ's #1 man is dead, a new currency is in use, real wages have near doubled, infrastructure is largely repaired and oil is flowing.

If you say something long enough, "It's a quagmire", "miserable failure", "another Vietnam", some will believe it. Truth is, viewed from a historical perspective, Germany, France, or South Korea took LONGER to recover after the wars. Germany didn't have a currency until later, their first Army stood up in 1952 (seven years after the war ended), it took longer for them to have a Constitution, their first elections........ It's all about "perceptions".

If people expect that we should have all the infrastructure in Iraq repaired within 3 months of the war, despite Baghdad being a city of 5.6 million and all having A/C in a nation where it gets to 122F, then achieving this in 1.5 years is a failure, even if it was a logistical and engineering marvel! Again, it's a percieved failure.

[dfwgator]

Well said.

[Apple Blossom]

If people expect that we should have all the infrastructure in Iraq repaired within 3 months of the war, despite Baghdad being a city of 5.6 million and all having A/C in a nation where it gets to 122F, then achieving this in 1.5 years is a failure, even if it was a logistical and engineering marvel!

This is expected from a nation of people who stand in front of a microwave and say "Hurry up".