I don't know that anyone with half a brain did not see the IRAQi takedown for anything but a strategic move to counter IRAN...I am no strategy genius but it did seem obvious that the only thing for the US to do was put our boots on the enemies front, back & side doors, after Afkanistan, Iraq was the obvious target....IMO. It would have helped enormously if there had been a true mobilization and clearer communications within our country of the long term ramifications of our preemptive strike in the ME...
When you have an entire generation whose knowledge of foreign policy is limited to reading Howard Zinn it's hard to explain ANY strategy to them.
I think this is the most succinct observation of the situation there is and I have regretted the obfuscations from the beginning. They have only given the enemy at home a whole basket of red herrings.