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No, he wasn't. Because he hadn't just invaded Iraq to install a Shia-dominated government. For your idea to begin to be feasible we would have reverse course 180 degrees and install a new Sunni strongman in Iraq. Or should we just break Saddam out of his cell and put him back in his palace?

We are where we are. You're right that Iran is in a stronger position now than it was before we invaded Iraq. But let's talk about realistic moves to deal with them, not told-you-so, woulda-coulda-shoulda fantasies.

Because he hadn't just invaded Iraq to install a Shia-dominated government.

We invaded Iraq to destroy its WMDs. We never invaded in order to bring democracy, least of all a democracy that puts Shia Islamists allied with Iran in charge of the heart of the Arab world.

Treader wanted a solution to the problem, I gave him one. It's an ugly solution, but only because we've allowed it to become an ugly problem. If Patton had gone on to Russia, we could have avoided the Cold War and the threat of MAD. Despite the rhetoric, the reality is that we're settling in for a long Cold War with Iran that could have been avoided, too.