Iraq, Afghanistan ... Iran? We've Been Here Before. WASHINGTON - Ten years ago, President George W. Bush and top officials in his administration assured Americans that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and that an American invasion of that country was justified and wouldn't be that difficult. "Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised," he told Americans on the eve of the invasion. The day before, Vice President Dick Cheney predicted that American troops would "be greeted as liberators." When Tim Russert, the host of Meet the Press, asked if, instead, there was resistance, were Americans prepared "for a long, costly and bloody battle with significant American casualties," Mr. Cheney dismissed that possibility. When Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, the Army chief of staff, said in congressional testimony that "it would take on the order of several hundred thousand troops" to occupy Iraq, Paul D. Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary and an architect of the war, dismissed that idea as "outlandish." General Shinseki was soon shown the door by the administration. Mr. Wolfowitz later acknowledged that weapons of mass destruction were simply the easiest rationale to justify the war, saying, "For bureaucratic reasons, we settled on one issue." It was a long and costly war with significant casualties, and no weapons of mass destruction were found. Four years ago Barack Obama, while not as off, made Afghanistan seem like it would be easier than it has proven to be. "I will make the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban the top priority it should be," he said. This is a war that we have to win. The administration has decimated Al Qaeda and killed Osama bin Laden, but few say it's a war America has won. And Afghanistan has not produced a victory against the Taliban as the president prepares for a gradual withdrawal within two years. In my latest Letter from Washington, I explain that now neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney is talking about how much attacking Iran, or not attacking it, would cost in money, lives and reputation.