Last night I caught a bit of Mike Murphy and Paul Begala on CNN, much to my detriment. Mike Murphy, taking cues from VP Dick Cheney, was peddling out the "dissent strengthens the enemy line." The logic, to be generous, being that hearing dissent encourages the insurgents to "wait us out."
Murphy's claim that Iraq is a "war of wills" is both patently silly and self-defeating. We can't win a war of wills with the natives. We eventually are going home, no matter how hard the country would clap, the insurgents know this. The Iraqis aren't going anywhere, it is their home.
If the escalation supporters were claiming they were engaged in a war for hearts and minds, they would at least be pointing in the right direction down the field. As of now, they are in a stare down contest with a mannequin, waiting for the other guy to blink.
Cross posted at Mass Eye & Ears