I understand where you're coming from, iwantFUEGO. Really, I do. And I have travelled and lived in the Middle East and, unlike many Americans, I immersed myself in the culture around me, to the extent that I didn't even allow English to be spoken in my home.

That said, I'm not so sure that invading Iraq has in any way helped suppress terrorism. Is there less terrorism now than there was before we invaded? If anything, it seems to be on the rise. After all, the extremists now have *another* reason to hate us - we're deeply embedded in yet another area they consider "theirs".

But it's too late to change the past, and it would be, IMHO, immoral to leave Iraq now, whether it was a mistake to invade originally or not. If we leave before Iraq has a stable government capable of providing its own security, then we'll have done more harm than good, to our own interests and especially to the people in Iraq. If we leave too soon, we'll have done nothing but create Iran II.

I did see some reports that the ultimate financial cost of invading Iraq may ultimately reach 2 trillion dollars. I do wonder if that much money couldn't have been spent in some better way that would have increased security, both for the U.S. and the world in general. Too bad our Congress underestimated the costs, and didn't even bother to discuss alternatives.