The lead article in today's Washington Post discusses how President Bush is looking for advice on taking a new course of action in Iraq. He's talking to various politicians, committees, and military analysts, as he's finally acknowledging that the policy the United States had in Iraq hasn't worked.

This isn't a political commentary, but it is a leadership commentary. There are times when leaders can become myopic and think that every single thing they say or believe has to be absolutely correct. When it's a personal conviction, you might be praised for standing against the majority opinion. However, when it involves others, especially the lives of others, there comes a time when a leader has to give up their own beliefs and move to figure out a way to take care of business, then move on to something else.

The problem with the crusades of the past is that the leaders didn't know when to stop. From Caesar to Genghis Khan to Napoleon to Hitler, no one was able to tell any of these men when enough was enough, and each of them came to their end soon enough.

I applaud the president for finally realizing that, in this case, the will of the people was strong, though, it seems, his former defense minister had actually changed his mind on where he thought things were going also. Still, he's owning up to the failed policy like a leader should; I hope he follows through with the changes on his own also.