James Taranto:

A lesson we would draw from Vietnam is that losing a war has costs that go far beyond the immediate defeat. Losing in Vietnam bred an excessive caution in foreign policy that led, among other things, to Jimmy Carter's impotent response to Iranian terrorism, Ronald Reagan's withdrawal from Lebanon after the Marine barracks bombing, George Bush's failure to finish the Gulf War, and Bill Clinton's retreat in Somalia and desultory pursuit of al Qaeda.

Sept. 11 was supposed to have changed all that, and it did--but not completely. In October 2002, after the resolution authorizing Iraq's liberation passed with strong bipartisan support, we proclaimed McGovernite isolationism dead. Obviously we were too optimistic. So this time let's be hortatory instead of prognosticative: For the good of the country, McGovernite isolationism must die. A decisive victory in the Iraqi "Tet," if it is widely understood as such, will deliver a crushing blow and help to liberate America from Vietnam's enfeebling legacy.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the Marines who were killed, as well as the families of our coalition partners who died. This is a crucial battle we are fighting right now. We will hear alot of carping about the attack on the mosque, and of course the Sadr Shiites will try to claim a "Jenin Massacre". Let's await the facts and see what is truly happening instead of jumping to conclusions. Perhaps the Mosque was being used as a place for snipers to fire, if so, it becomes a legitimate target and should be taken out.