THEN AND NOW

The Arab street will erupt. Another perennial. This is often predicted but rarely happens. A swift, decisive victory over Saddam will quiet the Arab street.

--Fred Barnes in The Weekly Standard, airily dismissing objections to the war, March 6, 2003

You can't underestimate the public perception both within Iraq and within the Arab world about the percentage of the force being so heavily American.

--General John P. Abizaid, top commander for U.S. forces in Iraq, explaining why it would be a bad idea to send more U.S. troops to Iraq now, in The New York Times, August 29, 2003