[Defiant]

There have been several threads lately about whether Iraq was worth it. IMO, Iraq should have been taken out, but not to nation build. It should have been a launching pad to destabilize Iran. Of course, Saudi Arabia should have been treated differently after 9/11, too, and Syria should have gone with Iran. The proper sequence of events is:

1. Replace tyrant with pro-western Authoritarian;
2. Spend 30 years educating and building a normal society;
3. Maybe, just maybe, replace authoritarian with democratic society.

See, e.g., Philippines, Taiwan, S. Korea, Honduras, Colombia, Chile.

Had this formula been followed, and the US been properly vicious in fighting an enemy that seeks our destruction, things would be quite different. We had numbskulls doing our strategic thinking.

[gleeaikin]

Pro or con, at least we will never have Saddam’s psychopathic and sociopathic sons Udey and Kusay to deal with.

[cunning_fish]

>>There have been several threads lately about whether Iraq was worth it. IMO, Iraq should have been taken out, but not to nation build. It should have been a launching pad to destabilize Iran. Of course, Saudi Arabia should have been treated differently after 9/11, too, and Syria should have gone with Iran. The proper sequence of events is:

1. Replace tyrant with pro-western Authoritarian;
2. Spend 30 years educating and building a normal society;
3. Maybe, just maybe, replace authoritarian with democratic society.

See, e.g., Philippines, Taiwan, S. Korea, Honduras, Colombia, Chile.

Had this formula been followed, and the US been properly vicious in fighting an enemy that seeks our destruction, things would be quite different. We had numbskulls doing our strategic thinking.<<<

That worked in SE Asia won’t work in Middle East and Africa.