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The fact of the matter is that per the CIA estimate, the Bush administration's more robust goals for Iraq appear increasingly unlikely to be achievable. At some point, the election there will have to be held, however flawed, and then an exit strategy needs to be mapped out, even if it leaves Iraq in a state of civil war or partition. Otherwise, it will indeed be like Vietnam. That is not acceptable. Slamming Hagel does not really address the fundamental issue.

I salute the Bush administration for its robust goals, and support those goals, but as events unfold, and more information is obtained, the cost benefit equation changes, and it is the responsibility of the administration to respond intelligently and objectively to such changed equation.

I should add that while it would be nice if the Bush administration had been more candid that the way events are unfolding is disappointing, I fully appreciate why it would be counterproductive for Bush to exude pessimism at this time, even if pessimism is objectively called for. For the Bush administration to do that would just make the downside predictions a self fulfilling prophecy.

And that is how I see it.

Hagel's willingness to step, front-and-center, to throw chum in the water during an election campaign is why so few Republicans like him.

He's a McCain Republican. He and Lugar think they can do a better job than Bush and want to make sure everybody knows it.

Hagel and Lugar are part of the problem, not the solution.

It is them and those like them who made the pacification of Iraq a much more difficult job than it needed to be. They offer no solutions, only criticism and not the constructive kind behind closed doors where it would do the most good.

This is self aggrandizing bullsh6t.

If we leave Iraq tomorrow, we leave a vacuum that will be filled by dead enders, islamofacist pigs and wannah be Ayatollahs like Al Sadr.

Bad idea. A better idea is to have the elections, hope for a strong government and a leader who will use the troops Petraeus is training to crush insurgents. That is the only hope for a good outcome.

We need a base of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in case we have to deal with Iran.