Throwing Georgie under the Bus

[Undertoad]

It's true. But, guess what,

- America didn't really join the allies in WW2 because Hitler was a Bad Man.

- WW1 wasn't really the result of Archduke Ferdinand having been assassinated.

- The American Civil War wasn't really fought to "free the slaves".

Nothing excuses the leadership and tactical failures along the way. But not telling us the "real deal" is not one of those failures... actually *stating* any one of those goals would make accomplishing it impossible. Like showing your poker hand. But more than five years out, they still make sense and, incredibly, most of them are still on the table.

They told you in 2001: it'll be a different kind of war. Doesn't excuse any kind of war; doesn't excuse losing; doesn't excuse the loss of favor of the rest of the world; doesn't excuse anything, really. But a lie? Let's be a little more sophisticated. More like a bumbled misdirection, followed by what is actually a steely resolve to see the matter through to completion.