Blood and treasure

Sunday, Senator Jim Webb appeared on NBC's Meet the Press. Webb debated Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on the civil conflict in Iraq.

Here is an excerpt from the show that his staff emailed out:

SEN. WEBB: No, I don't think that there is a war, to start off with. I think that this has been a botched occupation.

It's been going on for four years after the purely military part of it was done. This administration has failed in terms of bringing the right diplomatic formula to the table.

We -- all of the things that people like myself were predicting would happen if we went into Iraq are the -- exactly the sorts of things that the president and the small group of people who have sort of rallied around him are saying will happen if we leave.

We were saying that Iran would be empowered, we were saying that international terrorism would be empowered, we were saying that the reputation of the United States would be diminished around the world, and we were saying the region would become more unstable.

So we've reached the point, and I see, with what Senator Warner and Senator Lugar have introduced, that there's a good, strong feeling among the Republicans as well, we've reached the point where we have to come together as a Congress and attempt to bring some order into this.

Please!