If at first you don't succeed, keep it up.

I am surprised by people who think Iraq is going swimmingly, and would like to know what failure looks like if not lying to get into a war and abandoning capable planning in favor of a "sweets and flowers" philosophy.
Perhaps a little quiz will win a few converts?

How many post-conflict American combat casualties were there in:

A. Germany
B. Japan
C. Haiti
D. Bosnia
E. Kosovo

If you answered zero, none, not one, less than one, and ought respectively you are correct.

Here is the documentation:

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

In Iraq, as of this writing we have 715 US military fatalities since Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" and 40 since we transferred sovereignty.

Here is the documentation:

Coalition Casualties in Iraq

I am currently reading Isaac Asimov's science fiction masterpiece "Foundation". The political mantra in the book is: "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent". It is a great novel made all the more entertaining contrasted against our current Commander-In-Chief.

Whenever Bush assures us he wants to "stay the course" I shall now recognize that he is seeking refuge.