U.S. has no real choice but to soldier on

DallasNews.com | News for Dallas, Texas | Opinion: Editorials: "The question we must answer for the future, for the day when our nation may contemplate another pre-emptive war, is: Would America have been better off if it had not invaded Iraq?

The answers to these questions are, respectively, no and probably.

In retrospect, it seems clear that America's going to war on sketchy intelligence, with poor post-combat planning and simplistic political notions, was not wise. That does not mean good cannot still come from the war; lemons are the basis of lemonade. And, since we are facing hard truths, here is the hardest one of all: To abandon the fight prematurely, given the almost certain consequences, would be catastrophic.

That is not a happy message, but it is the only responsible one."