If

Amazing that one of the most powerful words in the English language has only two letters.

If the proper planning had been done for nation building in Iraq we might not be stuck in what is surely a quagmire. If the proper number of troops had been committed to the war and post-war effort security would likely not be a problem for Iraqis and foreigners working to rebuild. If neoconservative ideology were not the driving factor in BushCo. actions, we might not have started an unprovoked war. And of course, if Katherine Harris, Jeb Bush and the SCOTUS had done their jobs, there might not be a Bush administration right now.

Today's if: If it had been the Bush Plan instead of the Marshall Plan Germany would still be a third-world backwater struggling to emerge from post-World War II destruction.

From today's NYT:

In the initial months of the American occupation, the hard-earned lessons of earlier nation-building campaigns by the United States and the United Nations in places like Bosnia, Afghanistan and East Timor were ignored by Pentagon planners, who tried to rush ahead with showcase infrastructure projects before securing public safety and a sense of participation, critics say.

If only Bush and his neocon wingnuts had learned the lessons of history, perhaps things might be a little better for us all.