George F. Will: MacArthur's Two Words
... It is difficult to imagine how Iraq can end as a success—as an enterprise in which the benefits exceed the costs. And if it is judged a disaster, that will be because the responsible officials were too late in remembering what Gen. Douglas MacArthur said. He said that in war, all disasters can be explained by two words: "too late."
Because the administration was too late to recognize that there were too few U.S. forces in Iraq, the looting after the fall of Baghdad—which did more physical damage to Iraq than the war so far had done—shattered Iraqis' confidence in America, and insurgents were emboldened. Because the administration was too late in admitting that there was an insurgency, Iraq slid into civil war. Because the administration was too late in facing the fact of that civil war, it probably is too late for a "surge" of new U.S. forces, of a size and duration that the American public will tolerate, to extinguish it. For several years, Sen. Joseph Biden, who last week became chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, has urged an increase in the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. Now, he says, it is too late.
Now, in fact, it may be 1966. That year the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. J. William Fulbright, the Arkansas Democrat, held hearings on the Vietnam War. The hearings helped mobilize opposition to the war, which at the time had much more public support than the U.S. engagement in Iraq now has. Much of the impact of Fulbright's hearings derived from the decision of NBC to televise them, a decision that prompted some live coverage by CBS and ABC. Biden's hearings on Iraq, which begin this week, will occur in a transformed media environment and will be seen on multiple networks....
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Because the administration was too late to recognize that there were too few U.S. forces in Iraq, the looting after the fall of Baghdad—which did more physical damage to Iraq than the war so far had done—shattered Iraqis' confidence in America, and insurgents were emboldened. Because the administration was too late in admitting that there was an insurgency, Iraq slid into civil war. Because the administration was too late in facing the fact of that civil war, it probably is too late for a "surge" of new U.S. forces, of a size and duration that the American public will tolerate, to extinguish it. For several years, Sen. Joseph Biden, who last week became chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, has urged an increase in the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. Now, he says, it is too late.
Now, in fact, it may be 1966. That year the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. J. William Fulbright, the Arkansas Democrat, held hearings on the Vietnam War. The hearings helped mobilize opposition to the war, which at the time had much more public support than the U.S. engagement in Iraq now has. Much of the impact of Fulbright's hearings derived from the decision of NBC to televise them, a decision that prompted some live coverage by CBS and ABC. Biden's hearings on Iraq, which begin this week, will occur in a transformed media environment and will be seen on multiple networks....