The National Defense Institute University, identified by McClatchy as the Pentagon's "premier educational institute," came out with a sobering assessment (PDF) of the Iraq war yesterday:
"Measured in blood and treasure, the war in Iraq has achieved the status of a major war and a major debacle," says the report's opening line.
It pretty much goes downhill from there:
The report said that the United States has suffered serious political costs, with its standing in the world seriously diminished. Moreover, operations in Iraq have diverted "manpower, materiel and the attention of decision-makers" from "all other efforts in the war on terror" and severely strained the U.S. armed forces.
"Compounding all of these problems, our efforts there (in Iraq) were designed to enhance U.S. national security, but they have become, at least temporarily, an incubator for terrorism and have emboldened Iran to expand its influence throughout the Middle East," the report continued.
While Donald Rumsfeld comes in for the lion's share of blame in the grim document, there are other individuals whose decisions and arrogance are also considered responsible for the quagmire.
The report also singles out the Bush administration's national security apparatus and implicitly President Bush and both of his national security advisers, Condoleezza Rice and Stephen Hadley, saying that "senior national security officials exhibited in many instances an imperious attitude, exerting power and pressure where diplomacy and bargaining might have had a better effect."
Yes, this is the war John McCain wants to fight for the next 100 years.
Funny thing, though: Turns out the American people, according to a brand spanking new ABC poll, aren't seeing eye to eye with McCain:
POLL: Iraq as a Must-Win Now Rejected by 2-1
Record Number of Americans Say Winning in Iraq Is Not Necessary for Defeating Terrorism
A record number of Americans say winning the war in Iraq is not necessary for the broader U.S. campaign against terrorism to succeed, countering John McCain's view of the conflict and aiding his Democratic opponents' chances in November.
The Pentagon and a vast majority of the American people appear to be on the same page. George W. Bush and John McCain seem to be on quite a different one--where "out of touch" is so far out there, it's getting completely redefined.
[Update: A reader informs me via email that the official name of the agency issuing the report (despite McClatchy's article) is the Institute for National Strategic Studies.]
