I once thought President George W.Bush was the greatest president in history for the gumption and bravado for invading Iraq. The fact of the matter we got very little in return. Tony Porta and his fellow heroes are the reason I don’t feel that way anymore. I am sorry, The invasion was near nowhere worth the price when considering the human cost.
The invasion actually had Muslim terrorists thinking twice about punking the US. Blowback like this wasn’t supposed to happen, in Islamic theology; it indicated some kind of celestial screw-up. Then the liberals went soft and the whole thing deteriorated into a half hearted police effort and rabid Islamics are now laughing again. If Iraq had been set up with a US friendly Shah, and at least part of Afghanistan outright conquered, it would have meant more.