Who wants to be the last man to die for a mistake?

While VP Cheney and members of the Bush administration try to poker-face their way through assertions that the British draw-down is, in fact, evidence that things are going well in Iraq, British media and politicos seem to have developed the erroneous perception that the withdrawal indicates an acceptance of the ultimate failure of the democratization mission there.

The British military appears most interested in getting out of Iraq with a semblance of dignity, while across the pond U.S. leaders seem bent on deja vu-ing Vietnam right up to the final stampede at the embassy. After launching a war of dubious merit against the wishes of at least half the electorate, a war that essentially all planners agreed from the beginning could not sustain public support for too long or after too many casualties, the Bush administration now seems poised to make a face-saving, last ditch effort (how much does anyone expect the addition of 21K troops to change the march toward chaos we are witnessing?) before getting out and blaming the media, the fickle American public, and traitorous peace-mongering Democrats for the failure of the Iraq adventure.

Folks old enough to remember when The Andy Griffith Show was the runaway hit of the new season will feel a sense of nostalgia (and nausea, no doubt) when this cultural sleight-of-hand begins playing through the conservative media. Note to guys planning the next war: strategy should include realistic estimates of how much mayhem the US public will endure before they'll want to call it quits . . . like the British did this week.

Here's my take on the continuing crisis.