Debacle They Can't Win!

No, not Iraq today, but the whole the Miami Herald dug themselves and many on the left who fell in head first. This included the RRStar's own Applesauce maker Pat Cunningham who used this headline:

Lilly-livered peacenik at Pentagon school says Iraq war is a “debacle” we “can’t win”

I pointed out the following:

From the report (pdf):

For many analysts(including this one), Iraq remains a “must win,” but for many others,despite the obvious progress under General David Petraeus and the surge, it now looks like a “can’t win.”(emphasis added)

That is the only mention of the term, “can’t win,” in the entire report.

Here is the real story from the report's author:

The Miami Herald story (”Pentagon Study: War is a ‘Debacle’ “) distorts the nature of and intent of my personal research project. It was not an NDU study, nor was it a Pentagon study. Indeed, the implication of the Herald story was that this study was mostly about current events. Such is not the case. It was mainly about the period 2002-04. The story also hypes a number of paragraphs, many of which are quoted out of context. The study does not “lay much of the blame” on Secretary Rumsfeld for problems in the conduct of the war, nor does it say that he “bypassed the Joint Chiefs of Staff.” It does not single out “Condoleeza Rice and Stephen Hadley” for criticism.

Pat was kind enough to note his error.
DKK