OK, you're excused.

It is, after all unfair to lump you two into the same comingled brain-pan {ugh}
As to

I did no such thing, Ashton, all I did was break the combined argument into two question, because they are inherently different.

Most people agree with me here that it was wrong to invade Iraq on the premise that Bush gave us.

Most people also agree with me here that Saddam was a bad evil man, and the people of his country are better off without him.

I never at any point justified Bush's invasion.

Of course, selecting these two of a myriad of Questions.. is as arbitrary as any other simple assessment always is. I doubt there is any consensus 'here' that - from moment-to-moment every day since the first death: the people of his country are better off without him.

This proposition could be approached coldly - from the estimation of Saddam-killings/month VS the present tally (then throw in US casualties for an aperitif). Or it could be approached from the guesswork of Religio-schisms: the number of sects within Iraq, each determined to wipe out the other - because Each One is Possessed-by The One True God. These were held in check by Saddam, but now they are free to inflict whatever chaos seems to feed a chance for Winner-Take-All.
(Possibly for another quarter-century?)

Could also plot the $-drain, what that means for limiting future US ability to inflict its in-house political machinations upon the world via invasion-at-will, or our ability next: even to take care of our Own infrastructure and pay off our indebtedness [to many in the world who finance our balance-of-payments annual deficit -- these Expect to be paid their Interest; some may choose to take back their Principle as well. Ugly - that]. Then too: everything we Blew Up we have to Rebuild at *Your* expense and mine. And there are several more angles-of-view one might choose re

US <--> Iraq in 8/04.

So no.. I don't believe there is consensus here (or most places) about the overall tradeoffs \ufffd of this ill-planned, deceptively packaged Neoconman Riot -- which was on the PNAC Things-To-Do list since the early '90s.

Other than these little problems - by all means help vote-out! this bunch of maniacs, while there's still, just-now a reasonable probability of elections being held in the US.

Ashton

PS - it doesn't matter what most think here, of course. Many spouses don't really know which levers their SOs actually pull .. behind that curtain. As it should be, no?

And okay, I concur, there may not be a consensus about Iraq being better off without Saddam, but I think most people here believe he was a bad evil man, and shall I edit that to say that many people here probably think Iraq is better off without him.

And I'm sure we probably ALL agree that all the lives lost there by Americans and others, was more or less senseless and unneccessary, as well as sad.

PS - it doesn't matter what most think here, of course. Many spouses don't really know which levers their SOs actually pull .. behind that curtain. As it should be, no?

I agree, I only have made my position on Bush clear because it came about in other posts before now. I've learned not to let what other people think bug me all that much for the most part. :)

Have a good day, Ashton!

Nightowl >8#

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