A FIRST!

You heard it here first, folks - Winston suggests that the government "may be competent in these matters". He's never suggested the government could do anything right.

I think the clearest measure of whether the administration had seen to the post-war plans adequately is the post-war situation itself. And just as critics were too quick to start criticizing the war plan ( "it's days 3 already, why aren't we in Baghdad yet?") it is too soon to say how this will turn out. I do think it's fair to say that the power-vacuum is an indicator of an early, though correctable stumble. Having clerics networking the populace and people appointing themselves mayor before Gen. Garner arrived was less than optimum. I hope critics and supporters of the administration will ALL take a wait-and-see approach before pronouncing success or failure as to the "winning of the peace". We know we have the best military in the world, but in the new world of globally televised warfare, a nation must be prepared to quickly transition to the very non-military nation-building it was so recently in vogue to bash.