Billmon: Contingency Planning

Col. Pat Lang is worried that Shrub's stubborn refusal to consider any alternative to "total victory" in Iraq is preventing the Pentagon from planning for less favorable outcomes -- including some potentially catastrophic ones:

From talking to people involved, I perceive that "planning guidance" from our national leadership to the military focuses altogether on excluding any thought that there is a possible outcome other than a complete victory in Iraq, "victory" being defined as complete achievement of President Bush's goals in that country and in the region.