not to put it on the deficit. third, and here s the key point, what graham and mccain are talking about, let s be very clear, is the indefinite occupation of both afghanistan and iraq by a substantial number of americans. when mccain says a few americans, nonsense. you re not going to send a few americans into a difficult situation like that. now we re into vietnam all over again with a handful of advisers. they will be in the midst of the battle. so the question is, does america have some obligation or self-interest in permanently maintaining a status quo in both afghanistan and iraq that otherwise isn t attainable? and i don t think we do. and i ve been reading report after report that talks about the situation in iraq, in which it characterizes the iraqi state as having been constructed in such a way, in the wake of the total annihilation that was the 2003 invasion occupation. it could not function in the absence of americans. and rather than a condemnation of the entire project o