People's biases certainly show through in this thread, and that is natural.
First off, let me assure you that this guy is not Special Forces. It takes a certain level of knowledge, and no Special Forces Operator would postulate that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11. My guess is that this person perceives himself as patriotic, and does not see the sin in passing misinformation in pursuit of his political views. Either that or completely incapable of understanding that he is in the thrall of the propaganda masters of the administration.
Iraqui's don't hate us because they hate freedom. They hate us because we are acting like only we have the ability to give them the gift of freedom. They hate us because we don't see that they are not us. They hate us because, despite professing the belief in democracy, we are not willing to let them choose the leadership and style of representation that suits them. In short they hate us for being paternalistic and self serving.
Having said that, it is imperative that we make sure, in the implementation of free elections, that we make absolutely sure that the elections are fair. Further, given that we have destroyed any infrastructure that existed, we must provide the security needed to insure that the myriad factions there don't run wild. That is the difficult one. Doing that without becoming the oppressor will be very difficult. It did not have to be this way. But Gung Ho Dubya, in his very best John Wayne imitation, went running in there without a plan or the troops to implement order. He was so sure that folks would just love to be like us, he missed the critical detail. And that was that there are many vested interests and diverse views of what Allah wants.
Simply put, we did not have to do this. We have muffed it from the start, and now find ourselves in a very tough position. I am mightily saddened for the deaths, and for the psychological trauma that the returning vet's will face when we leave. Reminds me of another time...........