Dale,

In January of 2003, I offered the following, under the subject line, "If I Were The Prez" . Coincidentally, I addressed it to you then, and I guess it goes your way again. I can't say that I would alter anything. I'll offer some additional points at the end in order to address some of your concerns. Here is what I wrote almost 2 1/2 years ago:

As an American, I would fully support war against Saddam if there was
incontrovertible evidence that it A) played a role in the events of September 11th, or B) possessed, or was near to possessing nuclear weapons. Absent such evidence, I see no reason for our troops to die by the hundreds, and possibly by the thousands. I see no significant threat to the United States, even if Saddam does possess "non-nuclear weapons of mass destruction". At present, Saddam is contained, a threat to no one, other than, sadly, his own people. I would continue the no-fly zones, fund opposition groups, and, if the opportunity were to present itself, assassinate the man. We know that war will involve the deaths of many of our troops, innumerable civilians and possibly destabilize the region, the consequences of which no one can predict.

Just my 2 cents.

Peter

Now back to the future, err, present. I don't see how you can equate the threat posed during WWII to what we face in Iraq. Under Saddam, radical Islam was suppressed. It has now blossomed there. The invasion of Iraq has only served to recruit more Islamicists. Afghanistan is another matter and a legitimate battle for us to fight as they harbored al Quada. I agree that the fight against the extremists found there (and elsewhere) is comparable to the challenge faced during WWII. In fact, had we not diverted our resources away from Afghanistan, our efforts to capture/destroy Bin Laden and his bretheren would be much further along. When would I pull out of Iraq? Now, and here's why: I believe civil war is inevitable. Whether it is now, or in 5 years, or in 10 years, I truly believe it will happen and it will be far uglier than the carnage we see now.

As to point your grandfather made, well, both of my parents were Army veterans of WWII. My mom has passed on but she would certainly agree with my dad's position that Iraq was a tragic mistake. I take it that he would have our military take on every despot that this world has to offer. That's one heck of a list, Dale. How would we choose where to begin? Annually, Amnesty International publishes a lengthy list of the countries that violate human rights. If my memory serves me correctly, Iceland is the only one to emerge unscathed. I'm not an ultra-Liberal, Dale,  nor am I a pacifist but I know that we are a country of limited resources and we must be a hell of a lot more prudent before we entangle ourselves in overseas misadventures.

Peter T.