That Rove/Bush is prolonging the war purely for political reasons is beyond dispute,

Think goal oriented for a moment Robert. Wash away the political blinders and decades of conservative contempt you have built up that have snared you in a web of your own distrust and prejudices.

Why on Earth would Bush commit USA to a war with no goal? Why spend lives if there is no benefit? Sadism? Ego? Do you really think the war is being "prolonged" for political reasons? If the war is such a failure, wouldn't continuing it be political suicide?

The war to remove Saddam and the continued US presence in Iraq is of strategic benefit to the USA. The US doesn't spend money and US corporations don't fund politicians that take acts which lead to economic ruin by impoverishing Americans in a "war without end". So the leaders of these companies, even those not supplying the troops, govt. or military, obviously see some economic advantage to supporting the US presence in Iraq.

I threw up the charts and HTMLed up the links months ago only to be watch such treated with disdain, derision or disbelief.

WMD were a very real threat. A threat that could not be ignored...and to be more precise - could not be ignored in a nation harboring a large supply of oil such as Iraq.

I mapped out the US strategy in oil purchases starting with the Gulf War when we shifted our oil purchases from Iraq to Venezuala. Think back to the oil price surge that occurred back in 91 as a result of the interruption. When US-hating, would-be dictator-for-life Chavez acquired power in 1999 in Venezuela, at the close of the Clinton era, the equation changed again. Bush inherited a fundamentally unstable supply of oil to the US. This was of both strategic & economic concern.

After 9-11, the American public and Bush gave himself Carte Blanche in doing what he felt was necessary to fortify America from "foreign threats". More than anything else, 9-11 was dangerous because it was an economic blow to the USA. The fallout of increased security, fear and people hunkering down cost America hundreds of billions of dollars. The DJIA, alone, dropped 684 points, when the market reopened on 9-17.

"The Iraq Adventure" is a strategic one for the US. It helps provide economic stability by insuring that a supply of oil is made available to the west. With Venezuela actively seeking Chinese and other foreign buyers for their oil, the US is not out of the water yet. The day they find someone willing to buy as much as we do and at the prices we pay will be the day a new devastating economic land mine is hit.

Relinquishing our presence in Iraq - would be economic suicide.

How accurate is this analysis?

Let's just say the US didn't look away as Chavez was almost toppled in 2002 because we wanted to keep Venezuela a great US tourist destination.

Venezuela provided 11% of the US consumed oil in 2005.

Imagine what will happen, economically, when we have to find another source for that 11% if we haven't secured more oil from new or existing sources.

Yes. the word you are looking for is "depression".

Gas prices at 3.50-4.00 regularly. Shortages of fuel. Possible restictions of purchases and usage. Not a pretty picture. THAT'S why our men and women are in Iraq now - to prevent economic terror.

The US takes its economic security seriously and yet at the same time maintains a low profile as it does so, because to not do so would be unseemly and have negative repercussions.

"The Iraq Adventure" is about security, security from terror and WMD, but more importantly security from economic terror.