If saddam had simply kept his word twelve years ago, Iraq could be a dynamic, thriving nation today.
Every drop of blood shed, every child whose growth has been stunted over the last twelve years, every person who has been hit by shrapnel can look at the picture of the great leader still up on nearly every corner of Iraq to see the proximate cause of their suffering.
Every American or coalition member who is wounded, injured or lost in this knows that they are at risk directly becasue the international community allowed and encouraged saddam to defy the agreements he made in 1991 and since.
The loss of fighters to 'friendly fire' in war is part of the terrible overhead of war.
They were in harm's way precisely because of saddam's defiance and the international community's lack of unity in dealing with him firmly.
Ed