From a reader:

Jonah,
Good grief. “part of the Iraq gamble didn’t pan out.”
This is just the type of thinking that is dangerous for this nation. Analyzing a war, especially publicly, right in the middle of the fight is a terrible thing to do
It is nation needs to speak as one in this war. It is not. Just wait, that will get a lot of people killed. Our enemies see divisions in the ranks. Our enemies is infighting and second guessing among our conservatives. Our enemies see the “to hell with them hawks” ready to throw in the towel. Our enemies see generals questioning the war itself. Our enemies see our own pop culture criticize the war. Our enemies see Senators, Congressmen, and politicians question why we are still there and if it is still worth it.
Of course, all of them qualify their remarks by supporting our troops and saying that we must see it through. But the net effect of all this talk is to embolden our enemies. They can see through the bull***t just as well as anyone.
Good God, the way everyone talks it looks like we cannot stomach 2,500 dead, ever. Iran lost that in a day during their last war. Clearly, they are ready and willing to fight. We are walking straight into war 2 to 5 years down the road and no one, NO ONE, wants to admit it. They look at us with disgust and imagine that with us ready to run after 2,500 dead they can kick our ass back to the New World to stay with one low yield blast from a nuke.
The ironic thing is if they do get and use nukes on us, it will probably be in a part of the country where all of the talking heads currently live.

Me: I agree with the spirit of some of this, but I just can’t get behind the idea that analyzing a war while it is in progres is a “terrible thing to do.” I think it’s pretty clear I still support the effort in Iraq. But, it seems to me, a little realism about it is a healthy thing. Certainly the war would have more support if more people appreciated the stakes involved, which I think was part of my point.