Raoul,

What's next is a prolonged period of transition and reconstruction that will cost American taxpayers about $20 billion a year for the next ten years. Along the way there will be sporadic acts of random violence and terrorism that continue to take American lives.

What is unpredictable is what this victory will mean for the rest of the middle east. Will is spark other liberation movements among Arab nations or will it spark a more virulent form of Islamic fundamentalism? I don't think anyone knows for sure.

I will say this...we are not going to war against either the Syrians or the Iranians. We went to war with Iraq under the pretext that they were violating U.N. resolutions involving weapons of mass destruction. There are no such resolutions directed towards either Syria or Iran. There is no evidence that either possess such weapons. And, unlike Saddam, the Syrians and the Iranians have strong positive ties with moderate Arab nations in the middle east.

Regards,
Donald