I suppose at the time - although sensing I was going against my sounder judgment - I suppose I leaned in the direction of supporting it - but with much fear and trembling. This was not because I believed Iraq was a security threat to the United States - That was crazy talk and I knew that all along. I leaned toward supporting it because of my connections with the Middle East and my knowledge about the nature of Saddam's rule left me with ranging contempt and disdain for that man and his wretched regime. I can think of no political figure within my life time who I have hated more. It was hard to imagine that it was possible to make life worse for most Iraqis than it already was under Saddam Husein. But the invasion and at least the way the Bush Administration handled it did exactly that. There is no way of knowing if it might have worked if the aftermath had been dealt with competently. But, I doubt it. When the social cohesion of a country is fractured -even if that social cohesion had been ruthlessly defended by a brutal totalitarian state - it is not likely that it can be put back together again - when so many irreconcilable differences exist within that country. At the very least - the U.S. blindly walked into a no-win situation. I don't know if there was ever a window of opportunity to make the invasion into a liberation - but if there was - they certainly blew it. And frankly, I doubt such a opportunity ever existed except in some peoples' fanciful imaginations and wishful thinking.
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