For that matter, it ought to be underlined that as bad as Saddam was, he was contained, and a contained Saddam is very likely to be better then anything else that we get out of that place regardless of how expedient it was to attack him.

[ I'm recommending this because it's well thought out and generally sensible. I cut out the above passage because it underscores something I've thought recently. Now that Bush has finally conceded (though in the least responsible way) that there were no WMDs, I've heard him say a few times that Saddam wanted them, and would pursue them as soon as the sanctions were lifted. It seems to me that the correct solution to *that* problem is to just *not* lift the sanctions. Which were working exactly as designed. As Decius says, he was contained. And now we're in a situation where the best strategists we've got are predicting best case outcomes which barely improve upon Saddam, and likely case scenarios that are almost certainly worse.

As Decius says, Kerry's not gonna have an easy time of it, and he'll probably be demonized no matter what choices he makes, but I'm at least confident he'll approach the issues with a measure of thoughtfulness that has been lacking in the current administration. -k]

BarlowFriendz: Exit Strategies