Well, Guest, thanks for the slap in the face with a cold mackerel, I am sure.
I believe that 9-11 really did change the balance of things. It brought the terror home to the "homeland" (not the Rodnia, the good ole US of A). I believe that it made it clear that we (the US or perhaps even the Wesern Civilization it is associated with) were under attack. I mean you don't just slaughter 3,000 people if you don't mean to attack them.
Bush's response to that attack was immature, misguided and ineffective. But it too changed the situation.
Now, the ground in Iraq has become a sparking platform for a confluence of (a) patriotic Iraqis wanting to throw occupiers out of their country and (b) Iraqi, Syrian, and every-where-elsian fighters who just want to dramatize attacking the Evil West.
The war that was not necessary has evolved into a major firefight that, I think, needs to be won one way or another.
How do you think it should be won? What do you foresee would happen if we just pulled out and came home? For one thing, the Baathists would probably reassert their control over Iraq. God knows what would happen to anyone who had tried to befriend the US in the interim. Other terror factions would probably continue to use Iraq as a staging ground. Those are my guesses and speculations.
What optimum scenario can you envision for the current mess in Iraq?