> Both sides of the equation changed ...
I agree. But that doesn't mean the right decision was made or that it was made in the right way or even executed correctly.
I don't know if you remember, but way before the invasion I asked both sides to state their expectations of where we are going and what will happen. This was more like what I had wanted to see from the administration. This was not, as some stipulated, a way to criticize whatever the other side said. It was a way to open up real debate about the issues at hand and bring them to surface.
The process is often as important as the conclusion. And in this case, I think the process was more important than the conclusion. By not presenting a clear premise and a clear set of goals for Iraq, and by deceiving the nation into war, this administration has committed the most unforgivable crime IMO.
Lest you think I am being partisan here, let me restate that in general, on a personal level, I like Republicans better than Dems. Nor do I feel obligated to vote for any particular party.
The unstated assumptions and undeclared goals mean that almost everyone has been proven wrong so far. Iraq has not turned out to be a Viet Nam, not yet anyway. On the other hand, we have not gotten the oil to pay for the war, as some had hoped. Massive revolt and terrorist attacks against US interests around the world has not happened. Nor have we made a dent in terrorism, IMO. But what we have done, is to kill the very process and the principles that a democratic country is based on.
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