Admitting Mistakes

From an essay by Col. E.W. Chamberlain III., U.S. Army (Retired) in yesterday's Chicago Tribune:

It takes an incredible amount of personal courage to admit mistakes. It is very much against our nature as humans to admit that we were wrong. Administrations take on human traits, but in a hyper-elevated way.

It is even harder for them to admit mistakes because the existence of the administration might be at stake. But no administration is this country--past, present or future--has the right to persist in a course of action that is clearly detrimental to the nation.