You’re confused. We rebuilt Germany, we rebuilt Japan, we rebuilt South Korea so why wouldn’t we rebuild Iraq?
If you weren’t there you have a grossly myopic view of the Iraq war due to the fact nearly all of the Iraqi MSM contributors were Sunnis, aligned with the Sunni insurgents. Additionally, the MSM only sent their insurgents, excuse me, journalists into violent Sunni areas.
You, like most, are suffering Jihadi-vision and the (minority) Sunni version of the Iraq war. Both north and south of Bagdad the security situation was much different. My convoys would frequently be mobbed by cheering Shia in MND-CS. And they did not like the Mahdi (Iranians). We drove in unarmored vehicles. There were no casualties until the Iranians, Sunni insurgents and FSB-agents showed up in the south.
Three words. Culture, Unconditional Surrender. Actually we occupied them to our military advantage including strategic bases we still use today. The Islamic culture does not understand the word surrender and you can be we will be in yet another U.S. Iraq War when the next Radical Cleric takes over. Oh and they'll have a shinny new trained and equipped military too.
If you weren’t there you have a grossly myopic view of the Iraq war due to the fact nearly all of the Iraqi MSM contributors were Sunnis, aligned with the Sunni insurgents. Additionally, the MSM only sent their insurgents, excuse me, journalists into violent Sunni areas.
Let me be clear on this. I don't care about their internal Civil Wars. They've fought tribal warfare ever since so let them have at it and keep themselves weakened howaboutit. We should have left Iran and Iraq to fight it out. They both were happy and too busy to bother others.
The U.S. militaries job is not to defend {aka police} another nations internal issues. The number one job of the United States Military is to defend the United States Of America and to destroy any and all foreign enemy who with to do her harm here and abroad. A concept lost in Political Correctness and to a great extent the Geneva Convention. Had previous wars up to and including WW2 been fought by todays rules we would have lost. By the 1950's Marxist Idealist making enemies misunderstood victims had infiltrated congress by early 1960's The White House and The Military higher ups itself.