On what the Iraq invasion and mRNA shots have in common

And why it is so hard for the people in charge to understand when they've made a catastrophic mistake, much less change course

(NOTE: Dropping the paywall on this early because it has generated so much interest and discussion)

I’ve been thinking lately about the profound American failure I saw in Iraq in 2003 - and how it ties to the profound failure we’re all seeing right now.

I went to Iraq for The New York Times in September 2003, landing in Amman, Jordan, and then riding in …