>>Of course you are right, though. There is no such thing as 'handing IT
OVER
to the people right away." To whom? In a country with no democratic
tradition? Can't just hand it to the exiles who haven't been there the last
40 years.<

>You can if your true goal really was protection of your own country from
weaspons of mass destruction, etc.<

Which, as we now agree, wasn't the case. The real case was a geopolitical
agenda which has not been spelled out. 

It now seems that the Bushies had some vague goal of seeding democracy in
the ME - giving them the benefit of the doubt here. Since this has never
worked anywhere, I'm really wondering.

m