Vince,

Ordinarily I'd favor the collective wisdom of Congress, but that body wasn't so wise when it approved Bush's invasion. So, I'm OK with a decision to leave by Congress, or the gov't of Iraq, whichever comes soonest. And by continuing military presence, I'm not thinking of a force at the present troop level. I see it being scaled back in the coming couple years, but lasting who knows how long.

Sol,

I don't know what part you disagree with. I also believe that Bush has declared a war (war on terra') that cannot be won. That's the beauty of it, from a political perspective. It's given him free reign to act like a megalomaniac these past several years.

If we leave immediately we lose; if we stay we lose. Bush's war has created a lose:lose proposition for the U.S., and that is my top reason for disgust with the little d!ckhead. But since the U.S. created this instability in Iraq, I think we are duty-bound to give it the good ole college try to re-establish some stability there, if it's at all feasible.

Aunty,

Bush said he's a war prez, not a peace prez. I guess we shouldn't expect him to be able to win the peace, let alone keep it.

Sard,

First and foremost, to be respected, one needs to behave respectably. That's a foreign concept to Bush, so that was lost at the outset. Honesty is another way to gain and retain respect. Leading from the front with exemplary behavior also lends toward being respected. Are we seeing a pattern here why Bush isn't respected by critical thinkers?

Kicking butt never earned anyone respect. I think you have confused fear with respect. Doling out a good butt-kicking may make others fear you, but only an idiot would respect you for it. Then again, being feared, for the right reasons, especially for a nation, is not a bad thing, but it does not supplant respect.

Broodbuster,

It's good to see Iraqis celebrate events that parallel our interests. However, I think our yardstick of when to leave and under what circumstances should be more sophisticated than celebrating the assination of an Al Qaeda leader.

I'm pleased to note that my straight ticket vote - for the first time ever - continues to maintain a lead in the poll.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.