Yes, the conquest has gone remarkably well, hasn't it. Why, the insurgents are just *now* getting around to using
trucks full of chlorine gas and explosives on targets. Great peacekeeping job there, really showing them who's boss. Now instead of just saying how much they hate the US, they can get out there and show it, without all the hassle of leaving the country.
What evidence can you provide that any terrorist groups were in Iraq prior to the invasion? Isn't the reason we invaded afghanistan because *that's* where they were?
Yes, there are problems in Congress. Yes, some people are spending money on pet projects. But at least the money isn't disappearing like
363 tons of cash, gone with no record of where it went. Even in your example, the pork-barreler was voted out of office because he was over-spending.
For your last paragraph, I'll say...I don't know. Any opinion I could give would be tainted by my knowledge of what has happened over these past six years. I can make some guesses, if you'd like. Hindsight is 20/20 and all that. All I can say that I hope is that any hypothetical replacement in 2004 would at least be able to acknowledge the reality of Iraq: you're not winning, you're not building a new nation, and staying the course will not help the situation in any way, shape or form.