The failure is pretty obvious in Iraq and Afghanistan where even if we win we dare not leave the country because the political settlement we require still eludes us. And at this rate, it will ever elude us; because we are doing nothing to bring it about. We have created a vacuum that is filled with crime and corruption and the day we leave it will collapse from its own weight and Iran will move in and take over. And that's just the best scenario we can hope for. The worst is inconceivable. Meanwhile, the MIdEast will continue to be an open sore for a century because of the failure of the current US policies.

The administration can't seem to get with the program, first they almost lost the war militarily because they refused to even admit it was going nowhere. Now that Rumsfeld is gone and some alternatives are being implemented, things are looking better from a strict security point of view, not so much that the changes brought by Congress are so brilliant, but because ANYTHING was better than what we had before. But the original plan, to set up a pro-American state in the region to divide the Arab world and keep Iran in check has not only failed, it now looks like the best we can hope for is an Iranian puppet state! Meanwhile, events in Pakistan, although not necessarily our responsibility, will almost certainly affect us negatively, perhaps catastrophically. Sooner or later our luck is going to run out.

Diplomatically throughout the world our influence diminishes daily and our reputation as a rogue state increases every day. Yes, rogue state, not because everyone thinks our enemies are nice guys, but because our response to them has been heavy-handed, one-way, arrogant and know-it-all, we have a government of the people we used to export as tourists, and it has alienated neutrals and even allies, and where people recognize that the War on Terrorism has released a mean and ugly streak in the American body politic, one that has festered since the days of Richard Nixon but has its roots much further back than that. You can see that same streak right here in this board, where every question, every objection, every misgiving is dismissed with the classic Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rove sneer and disdain.

Yes, history did not begin in 2001, but the regime that embodies this John Wayne tough-guy Texas used car salesman philosophy did, and what might have been honest errors in trying to implement a policy, errors which any administration might have made, have been compounded by ideological maneuverings and obstructionism of those who have refused to admit even the slightest shortcoming or mistake. It's always someone else's fault, those counter culture hippies that sent Nixon straight to hell, isn't it? No, it's not their fault, or the liberal media, or the commies, or the academicians, or rock stars or Hollywood lefties. It is the fault of the administration and the political mythology that put him in power and the unquestioning obedience and loyalty of the unquestioning sycophants that have made excuses and covered for up for it.

No it isn't anyone's fault except the people who have held power in the Congress, the Executive and the Courts for the last 7 years, and their toad media allies. It's about time conservatives take some of the same advice they so love to dish out, quit whining about who's to blame and take responsibility for their own actions.