"Shock and Awe"... that sounds terror-inducing. Doesn't it? Wasn't that the point?

If the US was truly interested in Iraq's future, they would have kept the UN Inspectors there and let diplomacy work. But no, it was more important to bomb the shit out of a country we'd already bombed the shit out of for the previous 12 years.

.. And you wonder why the islamics hold a bit of a grudge ..

As for the rest of your gents' argument, its seems very obvious that the US is staying in Iraq for the long term.

We want:
1.) our hands on the oil spigots in order to control prices (esp. with China needing more fuel these days.)
2.) Back up Israel before it gets pushed into the sea.
3.) Stop the arabs from building a bomb.
4.) Ensure that there will be enough war to keep the population back home under control.
5.) Break open the state-run markets in greater arabia, and allow American corporations to make some more money.

The US will do whatever it takes to achieve those goals, as long as it doesn't inspire effective opposition back home.

The more people that believe we are doing "the Right thing in Iraq", the better for our leaders misguided foreign policies.