winterbadger | Washington Post essay by Gen. William Odom

The new National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq starkly delineates the gulf that separates President Bush's illusions from the realities of the war. Victory, as the president sees it, requires a stable liberal democracy in Iraq that is pro-American. The NIE describes a war that has no chance of producing that result. In this critical respect, the NIE, the consensus judgment of all the U.S. intelligence agencies, is a declaration of defeat.

As always, Gen. Odom demonstrates he is a careful, thoughtful, intelligent man with vision that's a lot clearer that what's going around in official Wshington these days.

I hope he finds a senior place in the next administration...