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[Penske_Account]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
(2). Of course, you know my view that invading Iraq was not "necessary" to either ensuring our security or winning the war on radical Islam, and was detrimental to the latter. (On the former, I think it's been a very expensive wash, at best -- though much worse for the soldiers actually dying in it).

But the damage to our credibility makes it very difficult for the Bush Admin to argue, as it did with Iraq, that a war will be a short, easy, inexpensive proposition. This was part of how the Admin sold the war to the US population, and also tried to sell it to allies (with less, though not no, success).

If anything, Iraq has proven Powell's "Pottery Barn" theory in spades. We broke it, we bought it, and according to Bush pulling out anytime before 2009 would be a disaster. So, how many other countries can we afford to occupy like this?

Iran would be different. There is an internal movement for change that would be our fifth column.