I think it was more likely due to an assumption that an insurgency would not arise and a recognition among political leaders that 90% approval ratings don't last forever and if we were going to implement the long-standing policy of regime change in Iraq, then there was a narrow window of opportunity to leverage public support and get our foot in the door. Like any other government program, a large war is easier to start than to end.
I'm not being a wiseguy when I suggest this, but some people are just jerks. I know a lot of people who served during Vietnam - my father, friends of his, uncles, et cetera. ALL were draftees. I've never heard one word out of them regarding anything bad from Vietnam. They did their time and then got out. It is not that they're repressing anything. They simply have the same attitudes that we associate with WWII vets - they did their job, went home, and got on with their lives. They weren't raised with a victim mentality. Some people were. Those people generally grow up to be jerks.
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