Almost no one senses that the tragedy of war is always error and costly error at that, the side winning who makes the fewest and learns the most from them—and then doesn't give up.Read it here.
Failure to come to terms with the reality of warfare has poisoned the political debate in this country. We have come to expect the impossible -- war without error -- and cynical politicians have tried to capitalize on those unrealistic expectations. As both Prof. Hansen and I have pointed out on a number of occasions the current conflict, in comparison with those of the past, has been remarkably well conducted. Yes, there have been errors and casualties, but they pale in comparison with those incurred in other major military conflicts. Yes, Iraq is a costly mess, but all wars are messy and costly and this one is a lot less so than most.
There is a reason that SNAFU, TARFU and FUBAR are all military acronyms.
UPDATE:
The Military Dad writes to note that I left out:
FUBB, SDDS, and IDMN.
OK, for you civilians out there, these stand for:
Situation Normal All F***ed Up
Things Are Really F***ed Up
F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition
F***ed Up Beyond Belief
Same Day, Different S**t [We used DDSS, Different Day, Same S**t]
It Don't Mean Nothing (pronounded "IDum") [In my unit we said "Max Nix" (from the German, "es macht nichts" -- literally, "it does not make anything"]
