Actually there's another big excluded middle in this argument but it's being perpetrated by the left. Now that we are in iraq they say we need to stay the course and rebuild Iraq.

That leaves out all the details, and the devil is in the details as usual. For example no one knows if such a thing can ever be done in the face of guerilla attacks. No one knows if there are people that could rule Iraq, with their 3 different peoples.

It may be impossible to do anything with iraq other than just leave it, there is no way of knowing if anything good can come of the whole mess. Stay the course is hope, it's not a plan. We see this image of a shiny happy democratic Iraq and the situation of leaving in defeat, and of course the first option seems better. No one knows how to the first option or even if it is possible. The only way is to spend the money and lives and see what happens. One has to hope it doesn't turn out like virtually every other attempt like this has done.

Have a read of Atrios under "what was supposed to happen" and "we wuz right" for what happens when people exclude all those pesky shades of grey details.

http://atrios.blogspot.com/