There's a very perceptive letter to the editor in the San Jose Mercury News today, from a Bryce Johnson in Saratoga, California:
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is no grammarian. In his statement: "Failure in Iraq at this juncture would be a calamity that would haunt our nation, impair our credibility, and endanger Americans for generations to come," he got both the mood and tense of the verbs wrong. He should have said: "Failure in Iraq at this juncture is a calamity that haunts our nation, impairs our credibility, and endangers Americans for generations to come." It is neither subjunctive nor future, it is fact and it is now.
Note the set-up that Gates was making -- that "failure" would be intolerable. We can expect this to lead to the conclusion that the US cannot afford to fail, hence measures such as continuation or even escalation are justified. Gates' statement is likely another part of the public opinion manipulation effort taking place while Bush delays on making up his mind about what to do in Iraq. Don't believe it -- Bush's mind is made up and the adminstration is telegraphing its intent.
The Democrats and wavering moderate Republicans in Congress should pay close attention to this opinion-manipulation campaign, lest they fall into the trap of colluding in escalation of the ongoing disaster in the Middle East. Reveal and resist the manipulation campaign--don't fall for it.