I think it's certainly okay to question certain decisions that have been made pertaining to the war, but what I object to is characterizing the whole war as something that has 'gone wrong'. I think this kind of thinking comes about because our media refuses to show the American people all the things that have gone right in this war.
I agree. I dont think the whole war has gone wrong and I don't think Perle, Adleman and others are saying it has. I think they're saying that there have been some wrong decisions made and that they've had a big effect on things.
Things like ignoring the Mahdi Army and letting it grow and flourish instead of clamping down at the beginning, not doing anything while Iran and Syria wreak havoc, letting this Saddam trial and all these other top leaders go on for years, Abu Ghraib, and plenty of other decisions made after April 2003 have negatively affected where we are today and that's a fact. Mentioning those isn't defeatist or liberal.
I agree with you about the media. They're despicable.