At various junctures, we were promised by the administration that "now" we were "turning the corner." The statue toppling moment, "as soon as the electricity situation improves," the 6 or 7 times we killed "Chemical Ali," the capture of Saddam, the fake handover of power to Allawi, etc.. etc...
You'd think 17 times bitten twice shy, but at each point our media has been willing to propel this narrative, which basically amounts to "the light at the end of the tunnel is just around the corner."
I think it's fair to consider Fallujah the final test of the Bush administration's strategy of Whack-a-Mole. Even now, the Bush administration will not admit failing our troops by not having enough of them there. Their attempts to pass the buck by blaming the generals (except for Franks, who clearly deserves blame) were truly depraved. So, if after sending dozens of our soldiers to their deaths nothing really improves, can we finally say that without a doubt the current leadership has failed our troops, the people of Iraq, and us.
