``...believing and shiting are two different things'' quoted Eric Beck
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Maybe a better way to ask this `why' question, is to speculate on the beginning idea, what if we had a reliable puppet in Iraq?
Here are some answers.
1.) The US could insure US big oil, big energy (particular Texas based firms) access to Iraqi oil fields, development contracts, in pipelines, refineries, and port facilities. These are big league economic investments and profits.
2.) The US could have a stratgic partner beyond Israel to coordinate US middle eastern policy on all fronts.
3.) The US would be able to keep an old cold war policy of containment of Russian interest in the middle east.
4.) The US would be able to contain Iran's expansion of power.
The list of advantages is long. What's not to like?
I don't think the Bush regime got much further than a list. They wrote down all the good things and decided, let's go overthrow Saddam.
They were megalomaniacs out to prove their legitimacy---remember they only won power by legalese and vote fraud. So, they created a propaganda compaign about WMD, bringing democracy to the middle east, the need to remove a murderous dictator from power, etc. Then they ran into a wall.
There was no public support. It all went downhill after that. WMD, Patriot Act, secret government within secret government, war crimes, the whole furball against a spinless Democratic machine of zero opposition or credibility.
Dot, dot, dot. So here we are. Obomass is pissing in two directions. We got nada.
CG