What's the excuse this time?

Bush and the GOP had been itching for a war ever since Vietnam where they could fight it there way. The common belief, often by those who never actually fought, was that the politicians controlled the war and that next time, they were going to let the military fight the war and win. (Perhaps they also pine away for living in a military dictatorship as well where pesky folks who are representatives of the people don't get in the way.) OK, so they have the war that they always wanted, they've managed to neuter the press and for a good while had the country buying their story and accepting it all.

So how come Iraq is such a mess? They enjoyed complete GOP control in Washington, found enough dumbass Democrats to go along with it and yet they still couldn't get the job done. They had no plan, but no matter. Criticism came and went like water off a duck's back. Perhaps their response is that it's going well, democracy, blah, blah, blah but Iraq has been a failure and a money drain on the US taxpayer, just like Vietnam. Who are they going to blame this time for a failed venture like this? They rarely accept blame and have carried this torch ever since the withdrawal from Vietnam, so fess up and explain. C'mon, they were all supposed to be experts at this (as they often liked telling us) and yet it's a mess.

If anyone knows who their whipping boy is this time and what the excuse is I'd like to hear it.