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The funny thing is I am by nature cynical. I normally would not have bought the Iraq war rationale. But I decided to trust. I figured for once let me not be a contrarian. For once, let me dare to believe in the cause and see what happens. Hence that betrayal feeling you mentioned. Like the old line from the Dylan song:

"I offered up my innocence, and got repaid with scorn."

Or so it seems. What the hell is going on? Was all that intel wrong? Was regime change bad policy? I have no clue what is happening.

My favorite (only?) folk hero from American literature was Hawkeye, the adopted son of Chingachcuk -- "the Last of the Mohicans."

The early scene in the movie from the 1990s was a classic. The British officer is speaking to the band of settlers on in the frontier village, calling upon them to form a militia to help the British fight the French. The men are reluctant because if they leave their homes, their families will be exposed to attacks by the Ottawa and Mohawk tribes allied with the French, and the British officer is trying to assure them that their families will be safe.

Hawkeye: "That's easy for you to say -- your family is safe in Boston or New York, while you're asking these men to leave their families and fight against someone who has never been their enemy."

Officer: "You call yourself a patriot, and loyal subject to the crown?"

Hawkeye: "I don't call myself subject to much at all."

Hawkeye's cynical skepticism is what I think of as "the American spirit." I think we see too much of the British officer's idiocy even among conservatives these days.

"What the hell is going on? Was all that intel wrong? Was regime change bad policy? I have no clue what is happening."

We are at war! It is a different kind of war than we have ever fought before.Until we get a handle on the terrorist the administration will probably keep a handle on the facts, intelligence etc. With our military in harms way, certainly hope they continue to do so, until the war is over. In WWII "loose lips sinks ships" was heard often. Some materials released today would have been considered treason then. Are you aware that the Japanese code had been broken and we were listening in....? Lives were lost because it wasn't made public knowledge, but more lives would have been lost if they changed the code and we didn't know what they were planning. It's a game of chess, you lose a pawn or two to save the King. By the way, Your mission is: I have hidden a five # bag of sugar in Indiana. It may be in a building, buried underground,or in the middle of the Wabash river, hidden in a cave in southern Indiana, or a coal mine ...If you chose to take the mission you will have one year to find it. If you don't find it am I a liar? Did the sugar never exist? (Hint they're still looking for the Reno Brothers' buried treasure in our county.....never have found it. It just disappeared.....If you find it I'll take half!)