“The real lesson of the postwar mess is that while occupying and reconstructing Iraq was bound to be difficult, the fact that it may be turning into a quagmire is not a result of fate, but rather (as quagmires usually are) a result of poor planning and wishful thinking. Both have been in evidence to a troubling degree in American policy almost from the moment the decision was made to overthrow Saddam Hussein’s bestial dictatorship.” — David Rieff, New York Times Magazine. The ever-decorous New York Times reporter may be faulted for his use of “may” in the first sentence of this concluding paragraph, after the portrayal he just finished presenting…