[Lord Chane]

Originally posted by Combat Wombat:
One difference is the US and the coalition did not go to Iraq to conquer it, plunder or rape it. We went to liberate it from an terrible dictator.

" ... an terrible dictator." Let's not forget recent history. It's not that long ago that the US was enthusiastically supporting that very same "terrible dictator". So long as he was serving our purpose and slaughtering Iranians, we had no problem with him. I think there's another famous quote that spells the situation out pretty well, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." And don't think for a moment that Saddam turned evil overnight. We supported him while he was busy oppressing his own people, murdering Kurds in droves, and using those WMDs (poison gas), that we got so concerned about later, on Iranian troops and civilians. It was only after the Iraq/Iran war ended and Saddam turned his attentions elsewhere that we became concerned about him. He'd used up his usefulness much the same as had Noriega and a host of other evil dictators who we supported because it was convenient to do so at the time. Our hands are just as dirty as Saddam's because we not only allowed him to do those things but actively supported him while he did them. Shame on us.