Then there is religious extremism?
I thought that was just a bugaboo created by the right wing to scare everybody.
Let's see, Sadaam killing and maiming provides a good buffer but we all agree that he was a despot that was better gone as long as the USA didn't impose it's will.
Of course we all know that the USA could have turned Iraq into a client state and kept the buffer in place indefinitely. But....wouldn't that have been evil. Perhaps not since France was in bed with him
I am right on board that Bush has screwed the pooch in Iraq but it is not a simple matter. France refused to join the cotw because our intervention screwed up their financial interests and not due to any moral imperative.