They're (politicians and political hacks) folding like a house of cards only because the media says Iraq is a disaster.
Then you get politicians with alleged bright ideas like forming a "study group" because they think they know more than the commanders on the ground.
General Westmoreland's biggest chip on his shoulder during the Vietnam War was politicians thinking they knew more than he did.
We should have got Westmoreland out of there sooner. Abrams had a better handle on matters, but you are right that the politicians got almost nothing right. The worst was Johnson, who was a great bowl of jelly.