I completely agree that the reasons you list are valid reasons for going to war in Iraq and that the war itself was not a mistake.
I believe if we pull out prematurely and it allows the radical muslim element to get a foothold in Iraq and go on to control its resources that it will have been a huge mistake.
I wasn't really clear on the point that Stein was making in this article but didn't think he meant that going to war in the first place was a huge mistake.
Actually, Ben does seem to be saying that the war is a huge mistake. I'll still keep reading his columns, but...