Shorter Victor Davis Hanson

"Tommy Franks put black bars over the good parts of my war porn."

Victory and judicious political reform are not antithetical but go hand-in-glove, and we used to have officers who knew that and welcomed the idea that they alone could give peace and politics a chance. The only reason that we have had three successful elections in Iraq are the superb bravery and competence of U.S. troops that ensured safety and kept the killers away.

In general, Gen. Franks seemed hesitant in answering questions, unsure now how to explain his prior confidence that we were winning in Iraq, and apparently adamant that we not come home “prematurely” but unclear why that would be so or why we should believe it so.

One of the great strengths of this country once was that our battle commanders —Washington, Scott, Sherman, Grant, Pershing, Patton, Ridgeway, and Abrams — not only sought victory in the field, but often offered explanations of why we were fighting (cf. Sherman’s letters to John Bell Hood), why we would win in larger strategic and moral terms, and do so in ways that did not infringe on the prerogatives of civilian overseers. That too seems a casualty of the modern age.
Posted at 6:49 AM

There are many tragedies of this war, but making it worse are virtual cultists like Hanson who's cognative dissonance will enable Bush to continue the grinding of the war and increase the butcher's bill.

Ill conceived wars are not for the benefit of your hard-on Mr. Hanson.