[singletrack]

I agree the Cubans are WHOLE lot different than the Iraqi ( not muslim for starters) but do you really think that in 2 yrs there will be a democracy in Iraq? 5yrs? 10yrs? I ignore time magazine by the way, but my lesson from Iraq is that THERE WILL NOT BE anything democratic or favorabile to the West in my lifetime. Just like you know what happens when teenage boys get drunk, you know what happens when Muslims gain power. oppression,murder,lies , terrorisim, jaywalking etc. Show me ONE Mid-East, muslim nation that doesn't do this. I was hoping that the Iraqis would appreciate the opportunity we brought, but they seem willing to let another 100 yanks die rather than stick thier own nose into the fight.I'd pack up today. Not my sons for these people............

[Tom Bombadil]

Not my sons for these people..........

I certainly can understand your feelings, I have a 21 year-old son and an 18 year-old daughter who, while not in the military, could find themselves there under the right (or wrong) circumstances. I have a son-in-law who helped to clean up the barracks hit by a scud in Gulf1----He refuses to talk about it now. I would have been absolutely galled to have Clinton start a conflict that would have involved my children.

Having said those things, with Saddam and company gone, I feel that the world will be a safer place for much longer than if we had just let things take their course. The thing to be careful of now is to not leave Iraq as a vacuum waiting to be filled by the likes of AlQueda etc. I can't think of a worse insult to those who have given their lives for our safety than to just pull out now.