Look, I think we've clearly established that Bush and his administration had a lower bar than you do for the invasion of Iraq.

Your bar would require something very bad to happen to America or its allies first, since there is no way in the real world to anticipate the danger of a terror attack to the level of certainty you require to justify acting in self defence. I may not be doing very well making this latter point.

Bush's decision to invade, based on the best information available at the time, was not immoral by my standards. He did not lie. He did not deliberately falsify data. He was not going in for the oil. He was not going in to make Cheney rich. Legitimate arguments can be made about it being wise foreign policy or not. Legitimate arguments can be made over whether he is pursuing the right course in rebuilding Iraq.

My personal opinion is that I feel that America is a lot safer erring in Bush's direction than erring in yours. If you and many others had your way, Saddam would still be in power, and we'd still be guessing. This does not make you pro-Saddam. It is just a fact. Saddam will now never threaten anyone again, we don't have to guess at what's going on in Iraq, and his personal time is ticking down as we speak.

I have seen enough to convince me both that Saddam badly wanted WMD, even if he didn't have large weapons stockpiled. There is much more to find out here. Somebody is still shooting scientists cooperating with us, even now. Why?

I have seen enough to convince me that Saddam has supported terrorism in the world. The fact that we have not found a signed contract with bin Laden is not the point. Al Qaeda isn't the only terror movement in the world.

I also feel that Iraqis are a lot better off. So do most Iraqis. This seems to be beside the point.

Yes, there are other hostile nations in Iraq's category. They also need attention. Probably military. Saudi Arabia badly needs to get itself straight with us. I am not happy with the pass they seem to be getting.

Yes, this is costing us money and lives. But we are slowly winning the peace.

Most of this argument seems rooted simply in a desire to see Bush fail at something. Anything. It doesn't look like it's going to be the economy. What's left? Iraq.