“STAND back! No, further back, or you’ll be swept away by the shock and awe!

Gwynne Dyer: Radical steps needed to escape Iraq quagmire:

We’re going to show you the full might and majesty of American military power. We’re going to...invade Iraq!!!”

The full panoply of American power was unleashed upon Iraq, and the results have been profoundly unimpressive. This doesn’t just mean that the US loses in Iraq. It means its leverage elsewhere is severely diminished as well.