Originally Posted by JTaylor

You've used the words crushed, destroyed and raped in your second sentence; emotionally charged and dishonest adjectives. Had they been used to describe the actions of the Hussein crime family, who the coalition removed from power, I may have found your premise credible.

Did the coalition make mistakes? Yes. Did I at times cringe at the PR effort? Of course. Did the war involve oil? Clearly, but was the (soon to be) largest oil-field on the planet better off under the stewardship of Saddam?!

I don't think I overstate the case in calling the Hussein regime brutal nor am I unfair in describing the Taliban as savage. Both have been unseated from power and now the people of Iraq and Afghanistan have an opportunity to build a brighter future. Their biggest obstacle is Islamism, not the United States.

Originally Posted by markjmd

Brilliant post, couldn't have put it better myself