snip
>Well, even though you're wrong about the Kerry/Bush thing ;-)
>
>(BTW - how do you get the s in arrow brackets like we used on CIS? I keep getting it rejected as they say it is a formatting tag or something???) TIA


< S > or < s >(without the spaces) = <s>

I like many others think that Bush's rush to war in Iraq was a result of a desire to depose Saddam at any cost and was on Bush's to do list long before 9/11. I'm sure that after 9/11 there was a concerted effort to find any shred of evidence that Iraq was involved. America was so united to back the new "War on Terror" that this administration was able quickly push through legislation like the Patriot Act that previously would have never passed and to shift the focus from the real War on Terror of capturing Bin Laden and disabling Al Qaaeda and other terrorist organizations to Saddam is an imminent threat to the US and was aiding terrorists and capable of providing WMD's to them. That premise has been proven to be untrue.

Is the world and the US really safer when by our arrogance and disregard of international relations and cooperation we have alienated and angered a large portion of the world population? Certainly Saddam was a bad man and the Iraqi people are better off without him in power, but I'm concerned that our arrogance and thumbing our nose at the rest of the world may be planting the seeds of more hatred and a new generation of terrorist who will be intent on striking us at any opportunity. I think that Bush has a very narrow view of the world and somehow believes that god is on his side, a very dangerous thing IMHO. Anyway, there are many bad men in power in this world. Are we making it our job to remove every dictator and bad man in the world when US policy and actions have supported and propped up so many of these guys in the first place? The US certainly didn't think of Saddam as such a bad guy when he was killing Iranians. The "enemy of my enemy is my friend" policies that has existed in the past has helped to keep many of these bad men in power in the first place.

I believe that this administration's ideology and policies are not the way to make the world a safer place nor has it done much for the US domestic welfare. You obviously believe otherwise, and I can respect that and I think we can agree to disagree. Neither you nor I can say who is right or wrong. History will provide that answer.