[mrnoodle]

There is a certain segment of the population who believes that anything that happens in the middle east is an oil-grab. We would have gotten much more oil (since there would've been less sabotage) at a much lower price by making nice with Saddam.

It's not about WMD anymore, obviously. It is about liberating a country from an oppressive regime, but with a payoff for the West. By having a secular, democratic buffer smack in the middle of the region (a great strategic location for military as well), we actually fix lots of potential problems. If Syria decides to use the Palestine/Israel conflict to make a major move against the filthy Zionists, we can kick them in the butt and simultaneously block aid from Iran. For that matter, we've thrown a big monkey wrench in the Shiite plan to utterly consume the middle east. Saddam was too secular for them as it was....now that Satan himself has taken up residence, they're worse off than ever. Damn, what if this democracy thing catches on? Lots of white-bearded religious leaders are going to lose alot of political clout.

No, it's not about WMDs. We get it. Bush perpetuated bad info. But it's not as much about oil as it is about a bunch of forward-looking geopolitical maneuvering. I think.