it's funny how the concept of a quagmire in iraq has switched parties. back before the war, the people who opposed an invasion of iraq were the ones warning of quagmires. that included me. i, like many others, argued that if we invaded iraq, we would not be able to get out. to the extent pro-war people addressed the quagmire concern at all, they generally dismissed it out of hand. but you never heard president bush talk about going to iraq so we couldn't leave.
these days the sides have switched on the "quagmire" issue. now it's the pro-war people who say we cannot leave iraq. sure, they might not use the word "quagmire", but it's effectively the same thing. when the president equates leaving with losing and insists that we simply cannot leave, he is describing a quagmire. that's all the "quagmire" term ever meant in this context.
but i've flip-flopped too. despite my pre-war quagmire warnings, i think we can leave. sure, leaving will probably have horrible consequences. but staying will too. indeed, it already is.
iraq is only a quagmire if we make it one. why does the president insist on making it one?
