History is a Circle

Things are going poorly in Iraq; there's no way to deny that (unless you happen to be our Vice President, but that's another matter), and, unless you're completely devoid of critical thinking skills, there's also no way to deny that history inevitably repeats itself. But, just in case you were looking for proof that history will do that, read this:

"[We] have been led in Mesopotamia into a trap from which it will be hard to escape with dignity and honour. [We] have been tricked into it by a steady withholding of information. The Baghdad communiqués are belated, insincere, incomplete. Things have been far worse than we have been told, our administration more bloody and inefficient than the public knows... Our unfortunate troops,... under hard conditions of climate and supply, are policing an immense area, paying dearly every day in lives for the willfully wrong policy of the civil administration in Baghdad."

- T.E. Lawrence, Sunday Times of London, August 22, 1920

Isn't it great that we were all able to learn from the mistakes of the last global land empire? Wait... you mean we weren't able to learn anything there? Bummer. I guess there's nothing else to do now but try and contract glaucoma so I can hook up a prescription for medical marijuana. Clearly, there are no other options.