Having served in Iraq during the opening stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom my opinion is fairly biased. That being said, I do believe that the war in Iraq was a necessary evil. Islamofacism in all its various forms must be confronted and destroyed. On 9/11 we experienced the effects of ignoring terrorism and the ideology behind it. There were 23 seperate reasons for America to attack and destroy the Hussien Regime. Congress read all of them and in turn voted to approve military action in Iraq.

Were mistakes made, yes aboslutely. Did the Admin and the Pentagon expect the Al Qaeda fueled insurgency, probably not. But that is the situation we now find ourselves in. We can not allow the Islamists to force us out, we can not bow to their tactics, and we can not leave the good Iraqi people to suffer under the extremists terror and intolerance.

Things are getting better in Iraq everyday. We are making headway, slowly but surely. Last weekend I attended a party for a family friend who volunteered to go to Iraq from retirement. He spoke very highly of Gen Petreas and his stragtegy for success. He said that things are going unbelievably well. Violence is down, civilian deaths are down and most importantly our troops deaths are down. We have to steel our resolve and allow our fine young men and women to complete the mission at hand.

Semper Fi

Just catching up in the Politics forum and trying to get used to people actually talking back and forth in a reasonable fashion, as opposed to a couple of other forums I post in. But a couple of sentences in this post caught my eye, so I guess it's as good a place as any to dip my feet in for the first time. I'm responding specifically to the part I have bolded.

Of all places to begin fighting "Islamofascism", Iraq wasn't it. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Iraq, under the regime of Saddam (horrible as it was), kept the religious fanatics marginalized in Iraq.

The Administration was wrong to invade Iraq when it did, and use 9/11 to scare us into thinking it was necessary. Our war in Iraq has allowed the Islamic extremists to grow in a place where they once had very little influence, and now they are spreading that influence even more throughout the region.

One of the "whereas" terms of the resolution to invade Iraq approved by Congress did in fact outline Al Qeada's presence in Iraq.

Well Mr American,
The general consensus of the Australian people is that we shouldn't even be in Iracq,once Saddam was Captured.We are staunch Allies to America,and if we were being invaded,or you for that matter,we wouldn't think twice of helping in any way we could.However this is not the case, with this War,if you wish to call it that.We Voted out MR Howard,because he had lost touch with the will of The people, who voted him in.Wasn't only the Iracq issue,but other issues as well,which led to his demise.You should vote Bush out if you dont agree with his decisions.You should march in your thousands and protest if you dont agree with the government you elected.To lose roughly 4000 young Soldiers,as you have is terrible.That's someones Son or Father,or whatever.We feel here, it cant be won, when now it's amongst Ethnic Factions,and we should get the hell out of there.
Iran,or Turkey, has Troops massed on the Iracq border,and I fear America will be dragged into an escalating War,larger than seen in recent times.
What annoys me also is,when I read how your and our Returned Service Troops,are treated so discustingly when they return home.They are absolutely forgotten,when they should be rewarded for Risking their lives for each one of us.They are all heroes in my opinion.
For George Bush to say 'If you are not with us,then you are against us',is absolute crap.These are the Rantings of a Warmonger.IMO.

Quote.
""There is a real concern that, regardless of who wins the [U.S.] elections [in November], the United States is not up to fixing Iraq," Baran noted, adding there is also "fear that the U.S. is going to get involved militarily in Syria and Iran" in ways that could further destabilize the region".
End Quote.
Source. http://www.antiwar.com/lobe/?articleid=3200

JohnWho:
Hindsight is 20 - 20, as they say. In my opinion, if we knew then what we learned afterwards neither the Bush Administration nor the U. S. Congress would have pursued the course of action that we did. We would have kept the UN sanctions up while many Iraqis died of starvation and lack of medical care due to Saddam's lack of concern for his people while much of the liberal leaning media continued to blame the US for the deaths.

Well, except that they actually haven't committed any crimes, that's one plan.

The problem though is if we start convicting people of crimes even when they didn't commit any, how much better will we be than folks like Saddam Hussein were?

Just wonderin'.

Yes, Bush is wrong... Not just about the Iraq war, but just about everything he has done...!!!
In an effort to show the rest of the world that the U.S. does not subscribe to tyrany, he (as well as Cheney) should be tried in the international community for war crimes...!!!

As much as I deplore this unnecessary war in Iraq we are there. We have disrupted the way of life of these people and if we pull out without reestablishing stability then this situation could spin out of control and become a civil war. Like it or not we are stuck there for a while, even the democrats are realizing this even if they don't say this loudly. Thank you President Bush, your legacy will live on long after you are finally out of office.