There are no clouds in the forecast ...

... so don't try & rain on my parade, Titus!

The reason it was so easy to "resist the urge" to argue with me is because there would be nothing to argue -we're in agreeance. And let me tell you something - in times past when I have found myself having to finally concur with you - and your prompting/argument being the catalyst - you have certainly allowed yourself to "remind" me of that fact, to say the least ... sinful pride or no.

And on this one, my goodness. Jambo didn't write "stunning" for no reason. In a post just last week you wrote that the administration's decision to invade Iraq was the single biggest mistake they've made to date! And only AFTER my contention that setting up a democracy was the only viable long term strategy to confront Islamo-fascism; AFTER my assertion that "retaliatory" (which is a branch in the policy tree of containment) strikes were unacceptable in this new war; and AFTER I put it to you to give me a specific course (if you disagreed with me) that the Titus Administration would have taken on 9/12/01, THEN and only then, did you dutifully ponder with the honest intellectual introspective this trio attempts to make its hallmark and ask yourself, "what would I have done?" Had this macro issue not been addressed by me it is safe to say that as we sit here now you would still be describing our Iraq invasion as the administration's single biggest blunder (yes, I know grave operational mistakes were made, we're talking grande policy here).

Now, several days ago when explaining my theory (on why we went in and why I endorsed it as the "Ryan Administration" policy, were it me in the big chair) to a laid up Jambo (read: no access to our site), I mentioned to him that Saddam was the only bad actor that "fit every category" in terms of what we get with a free Iraq; and in that I noted the added benefit of having an ally, if not our own troops, on the Iranian border; and in posts both prior and subsequent I spoke of how this would enhance our position in dealing with Iran i.e. dissidents, human Intel due to Iraq's geographical location, etc. So the "two birds with one stone", as you described it, or the "In one swoop" as I described it in my original post addressing this topic, the benefits ala a free Iraq/hostile Iran/ democracy as the only viable vaccine in that hornets nest of the Near East, was proposed and driven, and put to you Titus, by yours truly.

HOWEVER, you made an extremely valid point that I did not - we would still need to maintain troops in Kuwait in order to deter Iraq, even as our boots hit the ground in Persia. Talk about straining our forces. And its entirely possible that Saddam would have taken military advantage of the situation and we would have been fighting a two-front Middle Eastern war. In any event it would have been necessary to maintain the presence to deter him during an Iranian war and that would have been untenable. That was an excellent observation and I give you full credit. As do I give you credit for honestly pondering what was the best move post 9/11, and for having the stones to write it here - even if it meant leaving a mark, or having to read posts like this one.... he,he.

But to recap - I'm doing nothing you haven't done when I've conceded a major point - reminding you in a harassingly friendly way that I've been alone on defending this for FIVE FRIGGIN YEARS! I FINALLY came up with a defensible position on Iraq and why it was the best move in this new kind of war with Radical Islam, not to mention made a plausible case that this is exactly what motivated the administration. AND I was alone in insisting you come up with an alternative or concede the policy as correct. AND this has caused perhaps the BIGGEST shift in opinion (the Iraq invasion as policy strategy goes from your biggest critique to gaining your endorsement) in perhaps our entire friendship! YOU ARE ENDORSING THE INVASION! And I caused it in one week and just over a dozen posts - so PLEASE dear sir, step back and allow my moment in the sun ... the warm, life giving sun.... the gentle photosynthesis enabling sun .... ahhhhhhhh .... that's the stuff.