You could make a case that Iraq was not the immediate threat though. Yes, the world is better off without him but one could make the case that bringing down the House Of Saud or going after Pakistan for their harboring of Bin Laden and crew might have made a bigger impact on terrorism. And, Iran and Korea were probably more of a threat to us than Iraq.
Seems on the whole that there are a lot of people out there who don't like us....
screw em
Perhaps Iraq didn't pose the threat other nations did/do, but you can also make a case that Iraq was the next step regardless of the threat posed by other nations. That's a big debate, and my mind won't be changed that the Libertarians were wrong on the issue.
I agree with you about the CATO Institute, and clearly the majority of Republicans have lost sight of the limited government platform. Tax cuts aren't enough, but they hold them out there in an effort to quiet their core constituency while expanding pork and entitlement to ensure reelection.
I remain hopeful, but the fight for smaller government seems lost.