1. He admitted his mistake, and that's the first step toward not making a similar one in the future.
2. He didn't have the authority to start up the fighting again, not unless our guys were directly attacked. He was TOLD to stop, TOLD to let Saddam do anything domestically that he wanted to do, and TOLD to put his thumb up his arse. He was a soldier, i.e. a taker of orders from his civilian and military superiors.
So sorry is the operative word here?