The Road from the Airport

I just watched an interview with CNN's Sanjay Gupta and documentary film producer Michael Moore. My own opinions of Michael Moore aside (and I'll ask you to do the same), he made a side point while trying to illustrate a grander point which was that, "[Franklin Delano Roosevelt] defeated the Nazis, and the Japanese, and Mussolini in less time than it's taken us to secure the road from the airport to downtown Bagdad."
I became lost on this and missed the rest of what he was saying. This is a staggering point. Think of everything your parents or grandparents (or great-grandparents for Generation Y) told you about World War II. Think of every documentary, book, television show, and movie you've ever seen taking place during World War II. Think of all of these things, and now put that into the context of this statement. The Allied Powers took Normandy, pushed the Nazis out of France, and overtook and occupied Germany and people still can't walk around Bagdad without being gunned down or blown up. We defeated one of the greatest navies the world has ever known and occupied Japan and we can't secure a few highways for transportation.
How is this possible? I know the lip-service, sound-bite, "News at 11" reasons for it, but to be honest, my intuition is saying something just isn't right about this. What is going on over there? Should I even be looking to Iraq with a question mark over my head, or should my attention be elsewhere? If it's implausible that a country of our wealth, determination, and military standing is unable to quell the situation in Iraq (the argument of whether or not we should be there aside), then what are we doing there?
I think I have my answers, but what do you think?
What makes sense to you?
And once you have your answers, reexamine them.
Are you being honest with yourself?
When are you going to put an end to this?