Why We Went to War

Damn, but boy howdy, did Atrios (Duncan Black) totally nail the many varied reasons for us going to war. Hope he doesn't mind but I'm going to quote the first part of it and you can go there to read the rest of it.

The answer is unknowable because there isn't one. There are a variety of powerful actors who have different motives. It's as true, if not more true, for the continued occupation as it was for the initial invasion.

George Bush started the war because Saddam tried to killed his Dad and because he wanted to prance around on an aircraft carrier in a flight suit. He later got stubborn about the whole thing when those mean Democrats started criticizing him, and he began to buy into the transformational rhetoric due to his increasing messianic bent. And, now, it's about his "legacy."

Dick Cheney started the war because of his insatiable lust for the black stuff. Dick Cheney keeps us in Iraq because of his insatiable lust for the black stuff.

Don Rumsfeld went to war to prove that he could achieve any military result with 3 marines, an armed aerial drone, and his left pinky. He stayed in Iraq because George Bush told him to and because he still needed to prove his awesomeness...

Democrats went to war because they were scared of losing their elections. They stay there because they're scared of losing elections.

And these are only some of the reasons why we're fucked in Iraq.