re: #77 Atlas Fails

Let me clarify- Bush had good intentions, but didn’t understand the sad reality of real politik. Sure Saddam was an awful dictator, but illegally invading his country and overthrowing him squandered much of the sympathy we had around the world after 9/11, not to mention the fact that the Iraqis didn’t react at all as we’d hoped/assumed. Do I think Bush invaded Iraq for oil or for revenge on his dad’s behalf? No, I think he went in thinking it likely Saddam possessed WMDs and intent on liberating the Iraqi people. A well-intentioned disaster isn’t any less of a disaster, though.

It wasn’t illegal. What law was broken? Congress approved it. Many things that aren’t that good an idea are nevertheless legal.

And for that matter, though the cost far outstripped the Polyanna estimates, we did overthrow Saddam and that did liberate the Kurds, the Marsh Arabs, the Shia, and countless quietly desperate Sunni who weren’t from Tikrit.

Say what you will about Iraq now, today’s government doesn’t quash demonstrations with nerve gas.