You know, most American's didn't want to be pessimistic about Iraq... but looking back at all the sage wisdom, advice and consultation made available and outright ignored by the 'go it alone' team, failure was sadly, inevitable.
CONCLUSION p.50
The Bush administration has embraced a set of expectations about the costs and consequences of a preventive war with Iraq that incline it to act. Those who do not share those optimistic expectations are much more fearful about the price that may be paid, about the problems that may arise, and about the consequences that may ensue. Where proponents of the war tend to see opportunity, opponents see risks and dangers. Where proponents of this war see it as a fulfillment of Washington’s global leadership role, opponents worry that it may undermine the ability of the United States to play a constructive role in shaping the international order. Where proponents of the war believe that it will buttress respect for American power and shore up Washington’s global standing, opponents fear that it will damage America’s reputation and subvert its international influence. Many of these differences, in truth, have their origins in very different attitudes about the value of American predominance, about the international order to be desired, and about the likely effects of the use of force.In effect, this debate involves a competing set of predictions about the impact of a preventive war against Iraq. If the Bush administration’s predictions are correct, then a desirable end will have been achieved at modest cost with few, if any, adverse consequences. But what if some of those predictions are incorrect? What if all does not go well? How far does the course of events have to diverge from the rosy scenario painted by the Bush administration before this war ends up looking like a costly, counterproductive mess, or even a disaster? These are the questions that haunt worried skeptics about the war. They see many ways that costs could mount, many scenarios in which the interests of the United States and its partners are adversely affected. To be sure, it is not likely that all the negative predictions about the war will come true. But if the critics are even partially correct – if Saddam does succeed in implementing some of his options for making the war painful and messy, if the conflict does produce some of the undesired counterproductive effects feared by opponents of the war – then the costbenefit calculus associated with this war will be very different from the one offered by the Bush administration. That is what makes this war such a gamble.
THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate that. I'm constantly looking back to see if things could be done differently or better. A classic example -- first of all, I meant what I said on the strategic objective in Iraq. I said in the '04 campaign, I'm going to say it to you again: Knowing what I know today, I'd have made the same decision.
Nothing to improve here... move along.