Victory is not vindication.

In the euphoric flush of victory, memories rapidly fade of the destruction wrought and the price paid.

The intoxication of winning distracts most citizens from questioning whether limited and uncertain ends justified the horror of the means.

Once we win, what will it be we have won (and what lost)?

Is Iraq really worth the sacrifice? If we assign a value (to us) of Iraq ("x") and a value (ask the families) of the life of one U.S. soldier ("y"), the analysis then becomes quite elementary: n = x/y, where "n" is the number of American troops worth sacrificing for Iraq. Unless, of course, "y" is greater than "x."