Henry Kissinger summed up the logic of conservatives: "If the United States marches 200,000 troops into the region and then marches them back out...the credibility of American power ...will be gravely, perhaps irreparably impaired."
The painful parts of Washington history have often been about men trying harder to save face than lives.
With or without the fussy Frenchies, we're going to war. For this White House, pulling back when all our forces are poised for battle would be, to use the Bush family's least favorite word, wimpy. Maureen Dowd