10/27/2004 02:12:00 PM|||Joe|||Read this. It is disturbing, but not even remotely surprising.

I remember arguing with my dad on the phone, before we invaded Iraq. I remember saying that I was terrified that invading Iraq was a horrible mistake, that it would diminish our already poor image in the mideast.

And now we're stuck in an awful mess that is played down by Republicans and exaggerated (a little) by Democrats.

I sort of sympathize with ardent Bush supporters. They want so bad to believe that we are in the right, and that we will prevail. I'd really like to believe that too. But I'm not going to believe something when the evidence is overwhelmingly to the contrary.

I remember feeling in my gut that every reason offered by the administration was really kind of arbitrary. I've never been able to grasp why exactly we're over there, but I know damn well it has little to do with WMDs, Hussein's atrocities, the weapons inspections and certainly not al Qaeda. I'm not even sure that profiteering was the motive. I imagine that the reason is a mix of these with a whole lot of idealism, nationalism and zealotry tossed in for good measure. But it really is kind of incomprehensible.

In a later discussion this summer with my Dad, we got into it again. He said that 9/11 changed everything. And I agree. But I was glad that I was able to make my overall point: that every “reason” offered by the Bush administration to justify going to war was in fact an excuse. That they were looking for any shred of justification. That seems incredibly flawed to me. I think it'd be in our best interests to do everything possible to avoid this mess.

And no one can say that this situation wasn't predictable. Even I predicted it.

And I don't think very many people on either side of the argument have changed their minds. Which leads me even closer to the depressing conclusion that I'm trying to avoid: That this war is about our emotions and outlooks as Americans. At least to your everyday person.

All the indications are there. The constant rationalizations. Abu Ghraib: “a few bad apples.” Iraq not worth it: “So our troops are dying in vain?” Meanwhile, people keep getting beheaded, soldiers keep getting blown up.

How frustrating and sad.|||109891180087608051|||Terrorists' Perspective