re: You want to speculate about Afghanistan?
Not bad. Now throw these items into the mix:
--The Taliban strongholds in western Pakistan, where the movement originated. Pakistan's government continues to largely ignore this problem. The border with Pakistan is almost indefensible.
--The Iranian nuclear weapons program, which predates the war with Iraq. What would Saddam be doing about it?
The most pervasive myth is that the Middle East would be "stable" now if we had not invaded Iraq.
That history of Iraqi "stability" includes the Iran/Iraq wars--with a death count of anywhere between 600,000 and a million, the invasion of Kuwait, missile attacks on Israel, support of terrorism, two completely separate nuclear weapons programs, and the continuous abuse of his own people.