You're right about one thing: your mouth is full of feathers.
You know, when I was younger and much more brash and gung-ho, I would privately joke: "Any war. Any place. Any time."
Sadly, the Glory days of Rome and the legions are long past and I have gotten a bit older and wiser too.
We should not have gone into Iraq. We all got a bit too caught up in the frenzy of our easy beating of the Taliban. The issue never was whether we could kick Saddam's butt. The issue was 'what about after Saddam?' Too much wishful thinking there by me, you, and all of us.
Time to sober up and quit being in denial. Time to cut our losses and move on.