Quote Of The Day: History Lesson Edition

The lesson of Vietnam is much different from the one the President apprehends. The lesson is this: if you fail to fight a war in a manner calculated to win it decisively, you will lose it inevitably.
-- Jed Babbin

Jed Babbin's got a very good piece this a.m. at Human Events, in which he argues that the NeoCon scheme of using Iraq to build democracy throughout the world is flawed, and the president should abandon it in favor of fighting a war that's designed to win in Iraq and contain Iran and Syria.

Babbin carves out an aggressive stand: Wrap up Iraq militarily while turning "our military and intelligence establishments’ attention to the nations that surround it." He believes that will lead to the reform of Islam that's needed if we are to ever find peace.

I'm not sure how far Babbin would take the "military" part of "military and intelligence establishments," and there is certainly plenty of room for dumb mistakes if we go down that road. There's also the opportunity to de-quagmire ourselves and actually win the War on Terror.

It all depends on the conviction of the president, the will of the Congress, and the support of the people. In other words, before we fix the Middle East, we've got some fixing to do at home. If Petraeus can continue his winning ways on the ground, we may be able to take care of the rest, and then consider taking Babbin's course.

hat-tip: Real Clear Politics