Hindsight Finger-pointing or Learning While We Go:

Victor Davis Hanson (VDH) has written a thought-provoking piece for the National Review Online. While I agree with VDH's assessment that hindsight is not at all productive in the current debate about how to move forward in Iraq, I do think that such review is essential to learning valuable lessons. There is a time and place, however, for such a review, and it can occur in tandem to the current situation, but ought not influence the debate about moving forward beyond taking the lessons that can be learned and applying them in an effective and appropriate manner.

Now, we can learn lessons as we go, but such lessons should not be the subject of popular debate, though this learning should be done in public. I believe that Congress should hold hearings about our Iraq policy, should study through private - though not classified - proceedings, hearing from both the military and civilian personnel who have spent time in Iraq. But these proceedings should be serious, not a media circus centered on or devolving into a blame game for the "mess". No, this should be a serious effort to learn lessons quickly and make recommendations to ensure previous mistakes or errors are not repeated. The danger, however, is that such an effort would quickly turn from productive effort to partisan fire-fight. And unfortunately, rather than sending a clear message to our political echelon that this would be beyond unacceptable, the American public - polarized as it appears to be - would likely sit back and eagerly watch the political carnage, with pundits waving their pom-poms cheering from the sidelines.

The choice is very clearly ours. I just hope we make the right decision.