[Brad from Tennessee]

You right. Because of Iraq we had a military presence over there after Gulf War I. We faced a growing threat to our personnel stationed around the Gulf region from terrorists. This manifested itself in Kohbar Towers and the U.S.S. Cole. The options we faced were pulling completely out of the region or regime change in Iraq. The clock was ticking on the UN sanctions. Europe, China and Russia were ready to lift them. Oil-for-Food turned out to be a sham. It was only a matter of time before Saddam got his full oil revenue back and started terrorizing his neighbors again. The Clinton Administration, in their last two years, formulated the regime change policy. It was supported by many Democrats and the policy was inherited by Bush. The case for invading Iraq was put forward in the book--"The Thundering Storm"--by Kenneth Polick who was a national security expert under Clinton. There has been a lot of historical revision in just six or seven years.

[RobbyS]

A lot of amnesia. What bothers me is that our guys in congress are so busy hustling for money for their next election and handing out goodies for their district that they have no time to study the war. I must say. though, that it has always puzzled me that the administration spends so much time pushing big federal educational and drug programs in the midst of what they have called a war to the knife. As I recall reading , Lincoln led Congress do its domestic thing, while he devoted all his time to the war. Bush has not done this.