Help Wanted

There is a very interesting article in the WSJ on the administration's dwindling focus on Iraq. Counter intuitively, at the time that we need the most expertise focused on the hyper complicated Iraq quagmire, we find that there is very little talent left in this administration that is willing to put in any time working on Iraq. The inability of the Bush administration to find a willing "War Czar" is but one example of the dearth of willing experts.

Like a doomed project at a large corporation, failure is an orphan. Typically, though, when you peel back the layers of decisions that are made in failed projects, you find a very critical misjudgment, or more often than not, lack of judgment that undermined the project from the outset. A decision was made somewhere along the way that in hindsight was clearly in opposition to the best advice available, or the ultimate goal of the project from the beginning. Someone willfully ignored, or lazily plowed ahead in the face of clear evidence that more data, more testing, or a fresh perspective was required. Doug Feith's statement from 2003 is a shining example. In discussing the lack of planning that went into the administration's post war actions, he said:

"Sometimes that goes well," Feith says, "and sometimes that doesn't go well."

Hard to argue with that.

So now the Journal reports that no one is willing to pitch in and "own" Iraq. Only one White House senior staffer focuses on Iraq full time. Senior State Department and Pentagon officials caste their gaze towards more promising endeavors, like Israel and Palestine. Stephen Hadley, Condi Rice's replacement at the NSA, is looking to "hand off" Iraq, according to the article, a strange response to an issue that lies at the heart of his responsibilities.

Like the Commander Codpiece in his jumpsuit, this was all a lot more fun when we thought we were winning.