[VRM]

I still think it was very bad strategy to take on Iraq without finishing up in Afghanistan. We are now paying the price in both countries. The weapons inspectors were finding nothing in Iraq - Hussein had blinked first. We could have focused a lot harder on Afghanistan, and not given Al Quiada time to regroup. After many years of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, we had the support of a huge majority of the locals (and we still do, but that support is diminishing because we have not managed to actually finish the job).

We would have been dealing with some of the same elements, but because Afghanistan is not as developed as Iraq, and because it is more isolated, we would have been better able to keep the edge over the bad guys until more and better body armour and vehicles were produced.

Steve