How the quagmire and lost cause became the inevitable victory is of academic interest

It’s interesting that the left’s talking points on Iraq have followed the same trajectory they did during the Cold War. While the issue was in doubt, the conflict was portrayed as hopeless, unwinnable, and the best course of action was to just stop resisting. After it was over, the story changed to emphasize the inevitable collapse of our enemies and how our actions had little to do with it.