WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: Mission Sort Of Accomplished In Iraq. “The Iraq War was unhappy, but it was no Vietnam. . . . The lesson: be cautious about going in, but once in, don’t run at the first sign of trouble. War has a logic of its own; Bush and Cheney did not fully grasp what they were getting into when they invaded, underestimating the risks and overestimating the speed at which a reasonably stable Iraqi government could emerge. But they had the honesty and vision to hang tough once they were committed, and to their credit the American people, disenchanted with the war and disgusted with its leadership, refused to cut and run while hope endured. President Obama and Vice President Biden must be deeply grateful that President Bush ignored his critics and went ahead with the surge; if they want to reduce the partisan polarization in Washington they could perhaps say something about it as our troops come home.”