"I believe that the real reason for the war, at least in the US, was to create a reasonably democratic, free-market Iraq to act as both a beacon and a rebuke to other countries in the region."
Which, IMHO, is a good reason in and of itself even in the absence of other reasons.
Being a Repub and FOR the war cause I believed that we gave the appropriate reasons and Saddam did not comply, I am a conservative and NOT a NEO CON........you do not invade countries JUST to spread democracy.......if that was the case we would be invading Saudi Arabia, N. Korea, China etc......again, I was for invading but not for that lame excuse......if we didn't, I fully believe that Saddam would have started up WMD and sold it to terroists.