Iraq a diversion?

Not only was Israel opposed to invading Iraq but so were most of the Arab Sunni states as Saddam was clearly a buffer to Iranian regional ambitions. The Israelis believed that Iran was the greater threat to themselves and US regional interests; along with the Saudis, Egyptians and Jordanians, Israel begged George Bush to invade Iran instead of Iraq. Saddam was a menace, a major funding source of international terror and would not have stopped in his quest for regional hegemony and acquiring the bomb-and it's good that he is gone.

The Iraq War did however turn into a "war of diversion" as Iran, fearing a US invasion, was responsible for much of Iraq's destabilizing violence-this kept our troops chained to Iraq.

But past is past. The Russian backed nuclear mullahs are now the great menace to regional security and world peace and we must send them to hell along with Saddam. See my essay: The Rise of Nuclear Iran.

Not only was Israel opposed to invading Iraq but so were most of the Arab Sunni states as Saddam was clearly a buffer to Iranian regional ambitions. The Israelis believed that Iran was the greater threat to themselves and US regional interests; along with the Saudis, Egyptians and Jordanians, Israel begged George Bush to invade Iran instead of Iraq. Saddam was a menace, a major funding source of international terror and would not have stopped in his quest for regional hegemony and acquiring the bomb-and it's good that he is gone.

The Iraq War did however turn into a "war of diversion" as Iran, fearing a US invasion, was responsible for much of Iraq's destabilizing violence-this kept our troops chained to Iraq.

But past is past. The Russian backed nuclear mullahs are now the great menace to regional security and world peace and we must send them to hell along with Saddam. See my essay: The Rise of Nuclear Iran.

Not only was Israel opposed to invading Iraq but so were most of the Arab Sunni states as Saddam was clearly a buffer to Iranian regional ambitions. The Israelis believed that Iran was the greater threat to themselves and US regional interests; along with the Saudis, Egyptians and Jordanians, Israel begged George Bush to invade Iran instead of Iraq. Saddam was a menace, a major funding source of international terror and would not have stopped in his quest for regional hegemony and acquiring the bomb-and it's good that he is gone.

The Iraq War did however turn into a "war of diversion" as Iran, fearing a US invasion, was responsible for much of Iraq's destabilizing violence-this kept our troops chained to Iraq.

But past is past. The Russian backed nuclear mullahs are now the great menace to regional security and world peace and we must send them to hell along with Saddam. See my essay: The Rise of Nuclear Iran.

Thanks for the correction concerning Israel's position on the Iraq invasion.

I don't see, however, how a broken Iraq was a buffer against Iran's regional ambitions. Between an ineffective sanctions regime and no-fly zones, Saddam was hemmed in. Had the mullahs intended to exert control over Hormuz or the Gulf Sheikdoms, Iraq would have been in no position--militarily or economically--to confront Iran.

Any resistance that Iraq may have offered to an invasion of Iraq would have been offered by Iraq's Shi'a conscripts and Saddam's Revolutionary Guard. In other words, limited resistance.

Iran was kept in check by the presence of U.S. and British forces.

Iraq did not have to turn into a war of diversion, vis a vis Iran. That was a strategic and political choice not to confront the major sources of Iraqi foreigner resistance. Iranian agents and soldiers were, and likely still are, in Iraq, working with Jaysh al Mahdi and Al Qaeda in Iraq.

The troops required to confront the violence, train Iraqi security forces, and build a civil society did not necessarily foreclose additional troops for Afghanistan, or even Iran. Additional U.S. troops exist. It was a political and strategic decision not to commit additional forces to Afghanistan, or to an invasion/surgical strike against Iran.

Iran is a menace to regional security (and, with the oil in the region, economic security) by using the North Korean model, i.e. string along a gullible U.S., use enemies of America to foreclose the possibility of any real sanctions (the PRC and Russia), and continue building a nuclear capability. The blueprint was laid out. Iran merely learned.

Ghadaffi no doubt feels like a tool for giving up his WMD programs when the U.S. is demonstrating that she lacks the political will to do anything beyond Iraq.

My post came up in triplets. How did that happen?

Saddam's Iraq was allied to the Sunni Arab world, now it's a strong Shiite ally of Iran and an economic client state. To be fair and balanced about this if we had invaded Iran it would have benefited Saddam and strengthened his regime as his demise has benefited Iran. Moreover, the advantage of invading Iraq over Iran is that the Revolutionary Guard, unlike Saddam's Republican Guard and army, are skilled in guerilla warfare. Iran would have been a terrible quagmire for our troops.

I'm glad that Bush ignored the Arabs and Israelis and chose to get rid of the menace in Baghdad as the sanctions regime was failing and he was planning to reconstitute his WMD and nuclear programs.

But since the Iraq invasion Iran's regional influence has steadily grown as ours has waned: hence, Ahmadinejad's unprecedented invitation in 2007 to address a GCC summit and do a hajj at Mecca. Losing confidence in the US and fearing Iranian power the Arabs tried appeasement but to no avail. Unless Obama and the Dems get real and impose a regime crippling economic blockade on the mullas the Arab's last regional defense against them is nuclear Israel.

It's amazing how leftists are still so upset over iraq, they really will never forgive America for ousting a tyrant. Says a lot doesn't it.

And remember how they kept saying that Iraq was a diversion from the real war, like you said, how come when they're in charge, suddenly the real war ain't so real anymore.

The fact is they never wanted America to fight Iraq or Afghanistan, they wanted America to bend over after 9/11 and say sorry or some such crap. The modern-day left would rather America fall than defend itself against evil.

Could not say it better.