I think you're missing my point.

The U.S. did nothing to stop any other acts of atrocity around the world, even if it meant going against the will of the larger global community like we did in Iraq. Meaning, if France/the U.N. is failing in Darfur/East Timor, why haven't we intervened? We intervened when it was said that sanctions failed in Iraq. And why didn't we stop Pinochet and Milosevic before they finished killing millions of people? What made them so special as to allow the outsourcing of their rescue? I mean, we couldn't just leave Iraq to the U.N.

Speaking of rescue, the U.S. actually did very, very little to stop the acts of atrocity Saddam committed against his own people; we came in way after the fact. And besides Iraq nowadays isn't exactly the bastion of freedom it was supposed to be after Saddam was toppled. We're told again and again that it's going to take time. But when? And why is it getting worse?

(Off the point, but still important: where's all that oil money that was supposed to finance Iraqi recontruction? Why are we still paying for it? And why do those expenditures not show up in the budgets submitted to Congress?)

Beyond that, the original rationale for invasion was that Saddam was a grave threat to our own national security. That has been proven false and moreover it has been shown that the Bush administration actively falsified the intelligence used to make that argument to the world and most importantly, to American citizens. I believe that if a Democrat had done the same thing, not only would he have been impeached, I would've wholeheartedly supported it. I will not abide lethal lying by any chief executive, regardless of their political affiliation. This isn't just Bush-bashing.

I said this was about politics and economics, not oil specifically. Do I think W. wants all the oil in Iraq? No. But he does want a large U.S. role in the region for so-called "stability?" Absolutely. Is it worth American lives? It's debatable. But I say no, it's not. There are far safer, better and more noble ways to decrease our dependency on foreign oil.

However, I must say that if any president truly decides he or she wants to spread democracy to oppressed peoples around the world - not just the places where American economic interests are at stake - I will be the first one the join the fight. That is just and noble and worth lives, including my own. It's also something that could bring back the greatness of America in the eyes of the world.