I've done some thinking on the Iraq War too...

I have always had the view that the Iraq war has been
about establishing another US-friendly state in the region. Weapons of Mass
Destruction, I believed were a possibility. I believed
Saddam, or his sons afterwards, could become
sympathetic to Al-Qaeda interests in an "enemy of my
enemy is my friend" kind of way.

I don't like the war. I think the administration has
done a poor job of running it. I don't think it was
justified in any legal way, but I haven't decided
whether it was necessary or not. Of course the loss of
life is ugly, however if you aren't willing to put you life at
the risk then don't sign up for the service.

Saddam may not have been a threat beyond the first
Gulf War, now almost 15 years ago. However it is likely
his sons would have taken power afterwards and it is
my impression they were worse monsters than their
father.

I don't know what to make of the war. Anyone who
expected it to be easy is stupid. Nothing I have ever read has made real war seem like a picnic. Anyone who believes
war is ultraistic is stupid. Conflict is about killing. Usually, killing that serves the personal interests of the leaders of the country starting the war. Iraq had no connection to
9/11 and I have never believed it did. However, after 9/11,
the US was going to establish itself in the Middle
East. More significantly than it already was. Apart of securing that
presence was dealing with states that were a threat to
US forces in the region. Iraq was one threat. Iran is
another. The Bush Administration chose to deal with
Iraq using military force. Me, I would have pushed
covert means to eliminate Saddam and his sons. I would
have pushed the Iraqi people to fight Saddam. Then
again, I am not president. Also a Civil War would be just as ugly as what is going on now. And what would it have taken to get the Iraqi
people to trust the US after what happened at the end
of the Gulf War?

Before we leave Iraq we need to make sure the
government is friendly to the US. We need to get
western businesses into the country. We need to make
sure the Iraqi people have a system that lets them
take care of themselves. Lets them feed themselves and
gives them something to choose other than going to
Islamic fundamentalist groups. Saddam was an alternative, but he isn't there anymore. I want the US to provide
the region with an alternative. Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah get access to their
followers by preying on people who have little other choice.
That is the problem. That is the war we should be
fighting. How do you fight that kind of enemy?

Is it the United State’s place to have any role in the region? Honestly, I don’t know. I do know we need the oil.