[Gambit]

OOohhh... I'll have to disagree with you on that one. About as far as I'd be willing to go would be to have Iraq pay back the cost of the war, and that'd most likely be stretching realistic expectations.

I think we need to show that we mean what we say. To invade and set up shop would not only inflame ALL the muslim countries, it would also unite most of the western world against us. We'd truly become the "American aggressors" in that case, and no matter how good we were to its citizens.

Yes, we're the most powerful country on the planet. But enough mice can bring down the cat. It'd be a bad move from an honorable standpoint, a diplomatic standpoint, and even a Machiavellan standpoint. Militarily, the value would be mixed. Yes, it'd be useful to have permanent bases and facilities in the region. But the long term cost (dollars and lives) in increased deployments in other areas as well as that region might not be worth it.