[airspirit]

That damage is a good thing. It needs to be known globally that if nations expect the aid and counsel of the US, that they need to be allies rather than detractors. The reality is that in most areas, we don't NEED any of them, but they NEED us. We don't need to be burdened with policing the world, while the nations that we protect flame us from every direction. Maybe there will be a lesson that they can learn from this.

As far as whether the administration should have listened to the protesters: please. There are people that think that we should switch to an Islamic government, but it doesn't mean the majority should kowtow to the minority however much they believe in their cause. Sometimes the government has to do the right thing, especially if the majority (key to a democracy) is on its side. What more could this government have done to placate the minority? We should have wiped the floor with Saddam's ass last fall, but we waited and waited because we placated the minority ... how long would we have had to wait? Would they ever have been satisfied? I think you know the answer to those questions.

The sad reality is most of the "anti-war" protesters were really Bush protesters. Either they're pissed because there wasn't a Democrat in office, they feel slighted because the president doesn't follow orders from rabble, however well organized, or they generally despise anything conservative. It is also no big secret that many of the "anti-war" groups are funded either partially or wholly by international sources, many of them rooted in the middle east or east asia. I believe that if it was a Demoncat ... I mean DEMOCRAT in office, there wouldn't be 5% the number of protesters on the street. Unfortunately for you, if Al Gore was president, he'd still be piddling himself in a bunker somewhere while the nation burned after 9-11.

As for wartime economy ... it is the president's attempt to placate the whiners that has kept the Iraq situation uncertain, and this has further kept the stock market depressed due to UNCERTAINTY. Have you noticed that as soon as the US said "Enough fscking around, lets do this shiz" the markets soared? Everyone hates uncertainty, and it's the same whiners that piss and moan about the war and the economy who are helping push the economy into the toilet. This isn't speculation: this is fact, and can be read in damn near every issue of every respectable financial rag in the country.

Fortunately for all of us, we don't have a pussy president in office who quakes in his boots and does NOTHING. I would rather have someone who pushes progress internationally and occasionally flubs up than someone who does nothing but talk the issues like the senate in the Star Wars series. Many of our current problems can be compared to that form of government in many ways: so many people are after their personal agendas that NOTHING can happen, and sometimes it takes someone courageous enough to grab the reigns and make this bitch gallop. Fortunately for everyone, GWB wouldn't make a great Sith Lord, wouldn't you agree?

What you all fail to see is that as a CONDITION of surrender, Iraq was REQUIRED to disarm. They did not, and under international law, it is as if that contract never existed. For all intents and purposes, we will be doing nothing but finishing the first Gulf War, since the surrender is NULL AND VOID. Other nations such as France and Russia, however, have so much MONEY at stake if the current Iraqi regime falls, that they would rather see a murderer continue his butchery than do anything about it. We're talking BILLIONS of dollars, something France can use, and that Russia desperately needs in their current state of bankruptcy. It is THESE selfish agendas that are preventing cooperation, not some holier-than-thou position that they are trying to feed you.

It is quite interesting to note that it has been primarily US money that has ensured the mediocre containment of Iraq over the last twelve years. It wasn't French. It wasn't Russian. It wasn't German. The Brits contributed some, but only a pittance in comparison to what I HAVE PERSONALLY PAID IN TAX DOLLARS WITH THE REST OF THE CITIZENS OF THE US. We have a large stake in this matter. It is nice for an outsider to push for worthless inspections and such forever while the US is slowly bled dry, but it is NOT for us taxpayers that are funding this. It is about time we stopped trying to placate a bastard that refuses to abide by agreements he made while we foot the bill. In the end, the US will be better off, the Iraqi people will be better off, and the world community will be better off. Hopefully the US took the time to notice the fscks that gave us the finger so we can turn a blind eye to them in THEIR time of need.

Targetted speculation: If the French, Germans, Russians, and Chinese would have gone along with this, they would have ended up helping to foot the bill for the war and reconstruction once the war was over. If the French and Russians are already taking a financial hit due to the regime change, is it any wonder why they would want to keep the UN (and their pocketbooks) out of this conflict? Even if they knew that the US would do it alone, they would prefer that to having to contribute funds ... it's poetic justice that it will be the US that pays to clean that cesspool up, since it was up to the US to pay for the containment those fscks begged for all these years.

All I have left to say to the NATIONS out there that turned a blind eye to the US is this:

FSCK YOU!

For all of you out there in those countries that believe in our cause I apologize ... it's not your fault your government does what it does.