"In his Saturday radio address, George Bush described Iraqi insurgents as a 'small faction.' Meanwhile, people actually on the scene described a rebellion with widespread support... Isn't it amazing? A year after the occupation of Iraq began, Mr. Bush and his inner circle seem more divorced from reality than ever... Events should have cured the Bush team of its illusions. After all, before the invasion Tim Russert asked Dick Cheney about the possibility that we would be seen as conquerors, not liberators, and would be faced with 'a long, costly and bloody battle.' Mr. Cheney replied, 'Well, I don't think it's likely to unfold that way, Tim, because I really do believe that we will be greeted as liberators.' Uh-huh... Again and again, administration officials have insisted that some particular evildoer is causing all our problems. Last July they confidently predicted an end to the insurgency after Saddam's sons were killed. In December, they predicted an end to the insurgency after capturing Saddam himself. Six weeks ago,­ was it only six weeks? ­ Al Qaeda was orchestrating the insurgency, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was the root of all evil. The obvious point that we're facing widespread religious and nationalist resentment in Iraq, which is exploited but not caused by the bad guy du jour, never seems to sink in... And now we have a new villain. Yesterday Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez declared that 'the mission of the U.S. forces is to kill or capture Moktada al-Sadr.' If and when they do, we'll hear once again that we've turned the corner. Does anyone believe it?... When will we learn that we're not going to end the mess in Iraq by getting bad guys? There are always new bad guys to take their place. And let's can the rhetoric about staying the course. In fact, we desperately need a change in course."
-- Paul Krugman, Snares and Delusions, op-ed, The New York Times