Handwringing

There are two parts to the ISG. And depending on who you are, you've been emphasizing one or another part. There is the analysis section and there is the recommendation section. Supporters of the war emphasize the recommendation section and try to ignore the analysis section. The recommendations are no guarantee to success in Iraq. Everyone knows this because there are no good options left. So no recommendations are going to seem "wise" and a key to "victory." That's why it will be relatively easy for die-hard supporters to trash the report. All they need do is keep the focus off the analysis.

Those who oppose the war, conversely, will stick to the sections of analysis that clearly state the wretched conditions and utter failure of our policies. They will use that analysis to support the notion that since there are no good options left, it's best to cut our losses and simply leave. Something the ISG report does not come out and state (though you could make an argument).

And then there are those on the fence. And this is where the debate really turns. These are the people who are unable to accept the magnitude of suffering we have wrought and the magnitude that is still left to play out, regardless of what we do, because of what we did.

I think we need to leave. But I accept that in leaving tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, will die before the violence is settled. I accept that Iraq may very well be worse when it's all said and done than what it was before Saddam ran the place. But I also accept that the longer we stay, the further we get from stability. I also accept that the longer we stay, the more our military suffers, the weaker we get, the more dangerous the world gets, the less we are prepared to deal with new threats, the more it will cost in human suffering and national treasure.

There are no good options left. Own it and pick your poison.