| I know why we're still there. We broke it, now we bought it. Shame really, since there was no point to it whatsoever and Saddam was actually a strong stabilizing force in the Middle East who just wanted to look like he had WMDs so his neighbors wouldn't mess with him. Oh yeah, and he kept the terrorists out, which is always a good thing.
Buuut now that we're there, we're pretty much boned. As AZ_Infantry said, these people have been fighting for thousands of years. It's ridiculous to think one invasion by the US is going to change all that and magically create a West-friendly democracy. It's just not going to happen unless the locals MAKE it happen.
As for hearts and minds; just imagine if one day your life was interrupted by bombings, followed by an invasion and 5 years of being scared to go outside. As an added bonus, throw in no running water, garbage services, or electricity for most of the day. I think you'd be pretty pissed too. I know I would be.
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"It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it." - George Washington
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