well yeah but I assumed dom meant more like there was SOME BENEFIT even if it was a totally phyrric victory.

sort of like how if I shoot myself in the chest I wont have to worry about cancer.

basically while the reasons for starting the war may have been dubious at best, you can't say that removing saddam from power didn't do some good, whereas many die-hard anti-war folk would have you believe that "the US just wants to make its power felt in the Middle East."

and as much as people would hate to admit it, a continuing military presence in iraq right now is probably for the best

If anyone had read Niall Furguson's Colossus, you'll know why I am having precautious thoughts about this. For those of you who haven't read it, his basic arguemnt is that America is an empire in denial because of its inherent anti-imperialist birthing and previous contests with Eurasian powers. Because America has this sort of denial, any overtly voilent imperial venture, like establishing permanent bases in Iraq (or attempting to establish a base agaisnt the fight on communism in Vietnam) are doomed to failure. I don't know if I fully agree with his argument, but it will be interesting to watch and see over the next few years how all this turns out with consideration for his ideas.

But its nice to see my good friend imperialism alive and well in the 21st century.

But its nice to see my good friend imperialism alive and well in the 21st century.

I read a good article somewhere that broke down how Japan is the most fiercely imperial country in the world based on how they influence the world market but I can't for the life of me remember the damn link!

Probably for the better.

basically while the reasons for starting the war may have been dubious at best, you can't say that removing saddam from power didn't do some good, whereas many die-hard anti-war folk would have you believe that "the US just wants to make its power felt in the Middle East."

and as much as people would hate to admit it, a continuing military presence in iraq right now is probably for the best

Why leave it up to a dictator to churn out terrorists when we can make them ourselves by invading his country and killing his civilians?  It's that can-do attitude that really makes this country great!

You're right about one thing, though.  Iraq does need a prolonged military presence to ensure public safety.  The only thing is that it needs to be a military presence comprised entirely of Iraqi soldiers. 

sort of like how if I shoot myself in the chest I wont have to worry about cancer.

Jesus this is the saddest thing I have ever read in my life!

I've been making jokes like that all the time.

some dude from Nintendorks showed up at a thing and he had been told I had cancer and he awkwardly was like "is...is there anything I can do" and I said "YES...PLAY TRAUMA CENTER"

and everyone else laughed but his face went white as a ghost and he stammered and looked close to tears.