Chasing a bad idea or turning around?

Sometime we stick with some ideas or actions because we're afraid we might look bad if we gave up. That can happen in our professional or personal life. In all cases it generally ends up being a bad calculation. Why? Simply because we are too dogmatic, don't have the courage to make a u-turn, flip-flop or do something we fear might hurt our “image.” Concerns about self-image should never an overriding priority when the current strategy simply doesn't add up. We perhaps get so close to the issue that we become infatuated with it, but that's no excuse.

Now if we project this concept into governmental issues in general and to the war in Afghanistan in particular, a smart majority is convinced that we have no business there, that Afghans hate us and that Karzai is not worth fighting for. Yet, we are staying and even talking about adding more troops on the ground. The argument is that America would “look bad” if it left now. My counter argument is that it is an opportunity to show that we have guts, we've learned from history (Vietnam) and must cut our losses now. That's what we need to do. No more, no less, but it will take a really big man to muster the awesome courage required to turn things around...