I say it because I am glad Bush is president, and I hate to see this disaster drag down his efforts at important domestic reforms that are much more important to Americans.
We may have done all kinds of good in Iraq, despite the violence, I'll grant that. But we could do all sorts of good all over the world if we wanted to, but we don't because it's impractical and we can't afford it in money or blood. We didn't belong in Kosovo, so I was against it. And we don't belong in Iraq, either. Liberals are the ones who are supposed to support do-gooder foreign adventures. We're pursuing a Wilsonian foreign policy -- I prefer the policy Bush actually campaigned on in 2000.
Reagan allowed evil to exist in some parts of the world as part of a larger strategy to promote our interests by destroying the Communist threat. And I really don't like seeing Howard Dean out there promoting a Reagan-like foreign policy at Bush's expense (although it is kind of funny, because you konw he'd never do it if it weren't just another way to bash Bush).
Our military is now totally overextended, recruitment is in big trouble, and we're suddenly finding out that the Chinese have been secretly building up their military now for years under the nose of our terrible intelligence apparatus. We've ignored the real threat while engaging in this excursion.
Don't get me wrong: Though I wish we'd never gone, I'm glad we won. I'm glad that Iraqis don't live under a tyrant. I'm also glad more of our troops didn't get killed already.
But none of this justifies the invasion from our point of view. It's fundamental justification was unsound, and it really hasn't served *our* interests much at all. Now I hope we hand over power and get out of there ASAP.
Bush is doing just that in Iraq.
It's fundamental justification was sound from the beginning and still is today. The war on terror, and the center of the storm is now in Iraq, and not here. Saddam's capacity to destroy his own people, his neighbors, and US through continued coordination with alQaida is GONE. And Iraq will be a democracy in the center of the darkest region in the world.
It was the RIGHT thing to do.