And Iraqis' concern over Washington's ultimate intentions makes a bad situation worse. Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, commander of the Multinational Corps in Iraq, observes that "part of the recruitment for this insurgency is fueled by the perception that we are an occupying power and have no intention of leaving." All Americans, and particularly the troops in the field, are paying a very high price for the administration's blunders.

Even as the occupation turned violent, senior officials refused to level with the American people. Turning points and new dawns were constantly said to beckon: the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein, Saddam Hussein's capture, the transfer of sovereignty, the Iraqi election, the formation of a government.

New assaults are now routinely claimed to have broken the back of the insurgents. On the eve of the president's June 28 speech attempting to rally American support for his policies, Dick Cheney opined that the insurgency was in its "last throes." The administration similarly makes extravagant claims about the readiness of Iraqis to take over their own security. He's "pleased with the progress," Bush says.

But military officials are far more circumspect. Gen. John Abizaid, the commander in the Persian Gulf, says the insurgency appears to have the same strength as it had six months ago. The head of the Defense Intelligence Agency testified before Congress in April that "the insurgency has grown in size and complexity over the last year." The U.S. military's spokesman in Iraq, Brig. Gen. Donald Alston, says that "military options or military operations" aren't going to solve the problem of terrorism in Iraq: "It's going to be settled in the political process."

Soldiers doing the fighting say much the same. Lt. Col. Frederick P. Wellman, who helps train Iraqi security personnel, explains: "We can't kill them all. When I kill one I create three." Nor will loyal Iraqi security forces quickly solve the problem. "I know the party line," observes 1st Lt. Kenrick Cato of Long Island, N.Y. "But on the ground, I can say with certainty they won't be ready before I leave. And I know I'll be back in Iraq, probably in three or four years. And I don't think they'll be ready then."

The president should apologize.

Finding it tough to justify the invasion and occupation of Iraq on their own terms, administration officials constantly point to 9/11. "I will not leave the American people at the mercy of the Iraqi dictator and his weapons," the president said just days before he ordered an invasion. He went on to cite Saddam's "terrorist connections." The vice president long linked Iraq to 9/11, even after the claim had been discredited everywhere else. The bipartisan 9/11 commission concluded that there was "no collaborative relationship" between Iraq and al-Qaida.

In his recent speech Bush made the only slightly less misleading argument that "we fight today because terrorists want to attack our country and kill our citizens, and Iraq is where they are making their stand." And in a mid-June radio address he opined: "We went to war because we were attacked, and we are at war today because there are still people out there who want to harm our country and hurt our citizens." He added, "Our troops are fighting these terrorists in Iraq so you will not have to face them here at home."

But we were not attacked by Iraq. And jihadists are making their stand in Iraq only because U.S. forces are there. No former Baathist would think of flying to the United States to kill Americans, and most of the foreign fighters in Iraq could never make it to America, whatever their personal inclinations. Even worse, the Iraq conflict is creating terrorists -- and creating them faster than coalition forces so far have been able to kill them.

Iraq has been turned into the central front of terrorism, preparing killers who may eventually find targets elsewhere around the world, including in America. The CIA warns that Iraq may prove to be more important than Afghanistan once was in training deadly militants. The CIA's National Intelligence Council reports: The "dispersion of the experienced survivors of the conflict in Iraq" to other nations will create new threats in the form of mutations of the al-Qaida network. Jihadists already have begun returning to their home countries, including in Europe.

The president should apologize.

The result of the administration's war of choice has been to make America far less secure. The president has involved the nation in a conflict that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld now warns could run a dozen years. Yet the military is badly stretched, with no relief in sight. The reserves are breaking, and recruiting is off even for the active forces: "We are getting toward the end of our capacity," warns retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey. It is hard to imagine the volunteer military surviving many years more of this war.

Unfortunately, Bush gives no evidence of recognizing his mistakes, let alone admitting his responsibility. The Republican-controlled Congress is unwilling to hold him accountable. Even longtime conservative activists have been largely quiet. Other than a few courageous souls at small publications such as the American Conservative and Chronicles, most conservatives have said nothing publicly. They apparently hate the Democrats too much or fear the loss of power too greatly to break ranks.

Political apologies tend to be cheap, exacted only under duress and offered to quell criticism rather than to right a wrong. But as Republicans busily demand public repentance from their adversaries, they should look in the mirror -- the president most of all.

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