One of the many frustrations of the current situation in the Middle East is the fact that the Administration and its underlings keep insisting that we're in a state of unending war, although the Congress has yet to make any declarations to that effect:
Dov S. Zakheim, the Pentagon's chief financial officer, warned that Congress should expect additional budget requests. "This isn't a flash-in-the-pan kind of problem," he said at a joint meeting in Arlington of the U.S. Naval Institute and the Marine Corps Association, two professional organizations for military officers. "We're at war -- for some time."Lt. Gen. Robert Magnus, the Marine Corps' chief budget officer, agreed with that estimate of long-term costs. "This is a generational war," he said, speaking alongside Zakheim. "This isn't just Osama bin Laden."
That last bit goes without saying, as Osama bin Laden and the recent despot of Iraq seem to've had little or nothing to do with one another; one can only hope that at some point in their peregrinations, it will finally dawn on our seemingly-benighted politicians that their naviete (this is being charitable) has resulted not only in a manifestly avoidable embarrassment in Iraq, but an inexplicable lack of consequences for those most deserving of a good thrashing, irrespective of our long-term ambitions in the region.
One can only hope that priorities will be adjusted and resources aligned with commitments, whatever those may be, before the next probable confrontation comes to a head.
The suspense is almost unbearable.
