I like to think I could have answered the question...
...had you asked something similar when Clinton was in office.
As to your hypotheticals "where would Zarqawi have gone if we had never invaded Iraq," or "what would Saddam be doing if he were still in power five years from now," there is a fundamental difference between yours and az's that you never do see. It is perfectly all right to ask someone how they would personally react to a hypothetical situation. It is nutty to assume that one can know what someone else would do in a hypothetical situation. Nobody knows what Zarqawi or Saddam would have done. It would be fair to ask them, if they were here, though.