Lets see, the "mess" just had it's first democratic election in over 30 years. A mad dictator who killed millions is about to meet his Allah. Jihadi's from all over are flocking to the area so that we can kill them, fighting against our military instead of innocent American civilians. People like you have NO conception of history or war. Our occupation of Germany and Japan lasted a DECADE. This war against the Jihadi Islamofacists will last a long time. Unless of course we listen to people like you, who would have us declare defeat now and just surrender.
By the way I answered you question about MY military service and family stake. Now whats YOURS?
Yes, it's a mess - - there's essentially a civil war going on. If you go back and read the articles and predictions that were put out, pre-invasion - - including here on freerepublic -- what's going on in Iraq today is nowhere, NOTHING, like what was predicted. We were promised that a peaceful joyful greetting awaited us. NO PROLONGED INSURGENCY WAS PREDICTED. If you claim otherwise, please point to the pre-invasion article that supports you. You can't, because what we've got on our hands was never publicly forecast -- except by some generals who said we'd need a lot more men to keep down insurgents (and those generals were hooted down). As for post WWII analogy - MacArthur's Japan was nothing like Iraq today. There were some commies vying for power, but not with widespread violence and the equivalence of a civil war. "Ten years" my butt. MacArthur had the place up and running well before he was cashiered by Truman - and that was less than five years after V-J day.
As I said in my first post, a niece of my wife is headed to Iraq - via Air Force. Another niece of my sister (through husband) is going somewhere in middle east, also through air force. Query: Why can't either of the Bush girls put on a uniform? Even Queen Elizabeth deigned to do so in WWII. (when she was still a young princess)
"MY military service and family stake."
Never understood why this is relevant to the arguement....
"Our occupation of Germany and Japan lasted a DECADE. "
Actually, it is still technically ongoing. We have lots of troops in both countries.... still.
The Japanese are still bound by their wartime surrender treaties to us, as well.