<p>Anyone who is honest will admit it's impossible to know if this is a good war or a bad one. That is, if it will contribute to, or detract from, the sum total of human suffering.</p>
<p>The success of the war against Iraq depends on how long it lasts, how many and what kind of people die, and how young Arabs and old North Koreans react. None of that is knowable. The violent war protesters on the streets of San Francisco are so moronic because they are certain when certainty is not possible. This war is a matter of subtle calculation, of weighing ever-changing costs against ever-shifting benefits.</p>