[oldschoolcalgary]

usually I try staying away from these topics, as they will <eventually> turn into powderkegs instead of rationale debate, but I will say a few things:

1) I was against the war to begin with, but at this stage, I don't see any other choice than the US staying there...

2) it was a little optimistic to have believed that the Kurds, #####e and Sunni would have gotten along right off the bat-there was a loooong history of in-fighting that I think the US strategists under-estimated or failed to understand.

3) I do feel for the soldiers over there - they are simply doing what they are told to do - of course, the DoD have made some major missteps in planning in terms of post-war rebuilding: the number of former commanders speaking out against Rummy is unprecedented.

4) In terms of cost, idealistically, it is easy to say that "the cost of democracy is never too high"; the reality of that is that US citizens, the ones bearing the weight, both in financial and human costs, are really the ones who should be asked that question.

5) the "domino effect" - jury is out on this one...all I know is that it didn't work in Southeast Asia for communism - it can be argued that democracy is more likely to succeed because it is a more humanist system - however, it remains to be seen.

my two cents.