file under: an evangelical vision of geopolitical redemption

after reading an excellent history of the players involved, i still had one lingering question: how could so many bright, ambitious, politically-seasoned people, who have been advocating action in iraq for about 30 years, have failed so miserably to anticipate the difficulties of their pre-emptive aftermath?

here's the best answer i've come across yet.

[and while we're on the subject, who do we google to find a well-reasoned argument for the necessity of the war, now that no one is even pretending there were WMD's or any link to the events of 9/11? the best i can find is an "it was inevitable" defense from my usual source of contrary opinion (and even he stopped "restating the case for war" after nov. 2003, apparently). i hope something out there is more compelling than that, because "inevitability" certainly doesn't go very far in justifying the unilateral rush to disaster that ensued. or is it simply that even the pro-war types have accepted that this whole endeavor can't be justified and that there's no point in talking about reasons anymore?]