David Brooks on why we have a burden too heavy.

The fact is, we Americans do not like staring into the face of evil. It is in our progressive and optimistic nature to believe that human beings are basically good, or at least rational. When we stare into a cave of horrors, whether it is in Somalia, Beirut or Tikrit, we see a tangled morass we don't understand. Our instinct is to get out as quickly as possible.

NOW GO AND READ THE OTHER EXCERPT I HAVE LINKED -- AND THEN CLICK THRU TO THE FULL COLUMN. The "Battle of Midway" has been joined in Iraq...