Like many of you, I think that Bush is an idiot for his handling of Iraq. Unlike most of you, however, I am not so sure that going in was not the only choice we had. Rather than going into why I feel that way, what I would like to know is if you agree that Bush could have gotten his war without anyone questioning it if he had just follow this simple outline.

A short time after 9-11, we send out a survellance plane over the no-fly zone. In the past, the Iraqi's were known to send up a few shots at these planes. Well, what if one one of these trips, they actually shot down one and killed a couple of our men? In truth, since they had shot at us in the past, we could simply have sent a couple of guys up in a plane, and then had them bail out over the no-fly zone. Bush then would respond by lighting up baghdad with a bombing like nothing anyone has ever seen and follow up with an lightning invasion. No asking Congress or the world, we had just been attacked, again! Could you imagine the speech he could have given hours after the real or not so real downing of one of our planes. "No more will we sit around while terrorists kill our young men and women. On 9-11 a giant was awoken, and we are not going to go back to sleep. "
Given the mood of the Country, I really don't think anyone around would have had the guts to stand up and say, you know, maybe we should just talk to them a little more. Rather, parade around a few pictures of the men and their widows and little children, choke back the tears, slam the table and blow Iraq to smithereens.
If Bush had done this, would we be where we are today? And would anyone have been the wiser?
Rather, being the idiot he is, Bush passed up on the golden opportunity, and opened the door for every critic in the world to jump down his throat.