The war in Iraq is a net loss

Submitted by Trevor Kidd (Canada), Apr 4, 2006 at 09:50

I was initially in favor of ousting Saddam Hussein ... "for the betterment of all" or some other such lofty ideal. I now believe it was a mistake.

Its true that he was a ruthless despot who ruled his country with fear and violence. But that's what made him so useful. Because he was a paranoid dictator, he refused to allow the religious extemists to gain any foothold there because it would be a threat to his own power. Not only were they not welcome, they were actively rooted out. Combine that with the fact that Iraq was an effective counter-balance against Iran and it seems clear that everybody would have been better off keeping him in power ... except of course the people of Iraq. But you can only fight so many fronts in this war on terror.

The Iraq front should never have been opened.

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