ABSTRACT
War never stands alone. It quickly develops its own rationale, its own being, its own hypnotic power—and the neocons who used a naive president to get us into this war knew that from the start. People never get out of a fight, despite knowing it is hopeless, midway through the conflict, even when it becomes abundantly clear that it is in their interest to do so. In fact, many in the administration, especially the career uniformed military who have been privately against the war from the very beginning, are simply reflecting in slightly muted terms what the major military analysis groups of the world are saying. The Middle East team of the institute, which is chartered by Queen Elizabeth II, warned that Iraq would be lucky if it managed to avoid a complete breakup and civil war and if the country did not become the spark for a vortex of regional upheavals.
