They just don't understand

Gens. Downing, Meigs and McCaffrey on Punkinhead's Meet the Press just now echoed the general opinion expressed in this article which can be paraphrased more or less like this:

Those opposed to the war who want our troops out of Iraq don't understand how strategically important Iraq is and that pulling out at the wrong time might risk a major international calamity.

Well, actually, where were you before the war, guys? The major reason why most of us were against the way that the war was being cranked up--with all the name calling of foreign heads of state and the 'shut up and obey' attitude towards a skeptical American public--was precisely because of how strategically important Iraq is. With neighbors such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and Israel only a short drive away, invading without a rock-solid reason, a UN resolution, a good idea of what "victory" would look like and how to achieve it, and close friends by our side would have been, well, foolish. And now we're being asked to understand what we've been saying for years?