Frankly, there was no reason to rush to war. Hussein was not a threat to the United States and his capacity to cause trouble in the Middle-East was fully contained by U.N. sanctions and inspections. It would have been far cheaper in terms of lives and dollars to have let Mr. Blix continue his work.

And who told you the U.N. was doing a great job? Blix? The U.N., whose team was compromised by Iraqi intelligence? The U.N., that missed the nuclear program entirely until after the first Gulf War? That was led around by the nose by Saddam for years before he got bored with the game and threw them? Hell, they STILL had ex-Saddam guys working for them as guards before their building got blown up.

What are your standards for "fully contained" anyway?

And Iraq would have had a better chance at democracy if the impetus for it came from within - the result of a popular uprising, instead of being imposed by foreign occupiers. As it was, we fought their fight for freedom for them - a veritable free lunch that hasn't been earned by the people who might benefit.

Oh, PLEASE locate some Iraqi who lived through the years in Iraq after the first Gulf War and tell them they should have tried a popular uprising, or done a better job at the one they did try. I'd buy a ticket to see that.