You view it as a "mistake" because you can't handle the news media pounding away against a long war...because you can't handle the GOP being criticized night and day on every page of every newspaper printed, but Historically losing fewer than 4 U.S. soldiers per day in combat is not even a blip on the radar screen.
Yes, it's tragic that even 1 U.S. soldier is killed, but that was a foregone conclusion once the 2nd plane hit the 2nd WTC tower in NYC...that the U.S. was going to lash out and teach *someone* a lesson.
Even better, what we have done is to topple a region-destabilizing dictator who financed suicide bombers in Israel (haven't heard about many suicide attacks there recently, have you noticed?!), shot at U.S. warplanes enforcing no fly zones, and harbored notorious international terrorists on Iraqi soil such as Abu Abbas, Abu Nidal (Achille Lauro hi-jacking), Abu Musab al Zarqawi, etc.
But wait, there's more. Because we sat in for the long war in Iraq, we turned that area into a terrorist roach motel that has seen more than 120,000 anti-American elements flock to battle and meet their deaths there. And that's just the number of anti-American fighters who showed up toes first at the Iraqi morgues. Far more have been wounded (welcome to insurgent medical care).
The example that we set in Iraq convinced Khadafy in Libya to *peacefully* surrender his WMD program to us where it resides at Oak Ridge even as I type this note.
And Syria yanked its army out of Lebanon as soon as Bush said "Boo!"
Chirac is gone from France. Martin is gone from Canada. Schroeder is gone from Germany.
These are major shifts away from recent anti-Americanism.
Of course, I don't blame you for wanting a short (or no) war in Iraq. American lives and money have been spent there.
But where you and I probably differ is that I see those tremendous sacrifices as aiding all surviving Americans for decades...perhaps even for centuries to come.
Faced with the above American display of willpower and an Ethiopian army on the ground, Al Qaeda quickly crumbled in Somalia rather than attempting to stay and regroup/bide their time, for instance.
Recruits to jihad and supplies for jihad are so limited that Al Qaeda has to scrape to put together a simple car bomb in Pakistan, of all places (e.g. Bhutto assasination attempt). They can't even knock off a civilian woman now.
Little girls go to school in Afghanistan, something that they didn't do before...and they thank Americans for it rather than hearing only to curse the U.S. as they were told by the Taliban before we banished them to caves (in those few cases where jihadists even managed to survive our attacks).
It's game changing, but it is a long war strategy. Roach motels. Slow, democratic political change. Money. jobs. Rebuilding efforts. Alliances.
This is not a war for attention deficit disorders or weak hearts.
But it beats losing the entire airline industry from attacks that use innocent grandmothers and grandchildren to ram into building after building day after day.
The lesson had to be taught. The teacher charges blood. School's still in session.
I suggest, if you intend to Monday morning quarterback, you get an accurate tape of the game.
Not only that, even had they not simply disbanded on their own accord, from the total lack of command and control exhibited by the IA, throughout the ranks, it might well have been a harder task to first undo all bad training they had before rebuilding it than to simply start afresh with properly motivated volunteers.