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Sure it is. We started the war with the noblest of intentions (publicly, at least), with sanctimonious tough talk about a nebulous enemy that isn't really an enemy at all in a military sense ("communism," "terror," etc.). And we're now dealing with what is essentially a guerrilla war between various factions of religious/ethnic groups that wouldn't recognize a stable social order if they found one in a McDonald's Happy Meal.

By the time it is "over" (whatever the heck that means), the U.S. will only be able to maintain order by using ruthless means (through Arab surrogates, of course).

It's important to remember that the defining photo from the Vietnam War doesn't have any Americans in it . . . it's the photo of the South Vietnamese cop shooting a suspected Viet Cong guerrilla in the head. These things have a way of sorting themselves out regardless of our best intentions.