Re: First Gulf War
It all depends. Especially on whether you have correctly identified the cause of the problem, guessed the solution, or even whether there is actually a problem at all. Very often the obvious, straightforward response is really only the easy way out. In Pennsylvania, they call carrying too much in order to reduce the number of trips a "lazy man's load".
Sometimes you don't know whether you did the right thing until long after it makes any difference. Other times, you never know at all.
Governing isn't a precise science like navigating spacecraft, it's more like surfing.