Iraq: Permanent U.S. Bases Unacceptable

[Ken White]

Originally Posted by JeffC

Well, I guess the weather is better there than Afghanistan.

is not in the ME; Afghans don't do international ops and they don't do suicide bombings nor do many if any of them harbor delusions of grandeur. No roots and not close enough to them.

Iraq OTOH is centrally located in the ME and is important in the minds (remember that) of those who do international ops, encourage suicide bombing and find locals willing to partake. It is also directly adjacent to several folks who have delusions of grandeur. Thus its closer to the fertilizer of those roots -- it also offered the advantage of not being in Afghanistan where some hoped and planned for us to go

Afghanistan for many reasons is a virtual backwater and will remain so; Iraq for more reasons has the prospect of being a dominant local power -- certainly of being an effective counter to some who would aspire to that role.

Plus Afghanistan was and is in no position to effectively allow the insurance of continued world oil supply from the entire ME, an item of some strategic importance to us; we really want China and India to have all the oil they need and yes, the weather is a little better.