Teribus said:

You will have proved to the world that you are the weak willed, indecisive "middling power" that the General referred to....

Teribus is of the opinion that one is measured by ... the willingness to use their "gun".

Doesn't matter that everyone can see Iraq as a disaster. Doesn't matter that getting troops out of Iraq can only improve things. Doesn't matter that they shouldn't have been there in the first place. What matters is "manly pride", Don't ask for directions, don't ever admit you're wrong, don't refuse a fight, and don't back down ... ever. If you do, you obviously have a small one.

Of course, in the real world, we see that it is often the wisest thing to re-evaluate, to admit a mistake. Maybe even avoid a fight, if it doesn't concern you. And to know when enough's enough. There's a saying: "There's old pilots, and bold pilots, but no old, bold pilots." The best pilots don't take unnecessary risks, and don't put themselves in the bulls-eye to show how macho they are. They just do what they have to do ... and no more. Dubya got his flight status revoked.

And in the real world, we see sometimes that the biggest ... jerks ... are not the ones with the big ones, rather the opposite. Insecurity is a very dangerous thing.

Cheers,