Do you think the War in Iraq has been worth the lives and money spent so far?

i really dont know. in order for us to help bring iraq change, they must want it too, and they dont seem to. why does our military go over and try to protect them from their own people when they have perfectly abled body men who come to america as refugees. my husband is there now and he has lost two friends. i know that they were heroes, but is what they died for even going to change??

First of all War in Iraq is not called a war because Congress had not declared it, it's a police action: last time the US have declare war: December 7, 1941. Secondly, I think that it is not worth it to fight the war. before the war gas prices was at $1.70 a gallon, now it's $3.27 a gallon, At the end of the Clinton Administration, we have a budget surplus. now we have the highest budget deficet in the world. Bush should be impeached but Congress are too scared to do it! You get rid of one dictator in that country, more terrorist will pop out of the shadows. In 2007, a tornado hits Greensboro, Kansas that destroy 90% of the city, where are the emergency equipment, well they're all sent to Iraq. Bush is losing more of his allies (Blair resigns, Howard lost the election). The next president should indict both Bush and Cheney and be stripped of their immunity. It's like Vietnam conflict of the 2000s. Congress are scared to pullout troops is because of the reminsence of the Vietnam in the 60s. I say this country should get the hell out of Iraq and start rebuild our economy.

The loss of any American life is not in vain. Iraq is a tough problem, but leaving the country to our enemies isn't a solution. We need to listen to our commanders and make appropriate decisions not just political ones. Johnson ran Viet Nahm and Nixon ended it. Look what happened. It is the ONLY loss of war America has known. We may have conducted things improperly or gone in to soon, but now that we are there let us finish the job and set up a democracy. An unwillingness to fight for our principles is our greatest weakness. Our enemies know this and send us back the fingers of Americans. I think the opposition to the war is simply political and that even a democratic President is not going to be able to just pull us out without dire consequences. If Bush messed this up, dems should be rooting for better handling and better judgement. Instead they root for defeat and imply that our soldiers died in vain. If you are a democrat, you know better! You are not unpatriotic. Take your party back from the bosses and nay sayers and make this country better!

Maybe another couple of trillion in debt, another 10,000 young lives lost will convince the Right that it was a horrible, horrible mistake? Nope, I doubt it. The draft dodging administration will just want to pile more and more bodies to commemorate all those "whose life was not lost in vain". How does this snowball effect, how does the compounding the lives already lost with new charred flesh makes it worth it is beyond me.

...and uncle bucnomore, here is a little quote for you:

"those who do not know history are bound to repeat it"

dubya knows history not, and every f up is a new daily revelation to him for that reason. the poster asks the question weighing the pros and cons of going into the war, something that our administration ought to have considered. unless we learn from their mistake, we are bound to repeat it, see?

I think our brave military men and women have done an outstanding job under very difficult circumstances .

They have been put in a situation that is incapable of being resolved with force or even controlled by the presence of armed individuals or units that attempt to maintain order .

NO and hell no. PBS is airing a two part Frontline on the Iraq war and the title is Bush's War. I saw the first part and it puts much of the blame on Vice President Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld...remember him?

Not worth a penny, the war in iraq is complete bull and it's money based, as was the set up of 9/11.

Well, nothing can make up for the lives lost, but we were told at the beginning that the war effort would be paid for by Iraqi oil revenue, so once we get that up and running, we can send them the bill. Bush wouldn't have lied about that, would he?

At least we'll get some of our money back.

Sort of, if it were planned correctly and the end result is a large middle eastern true democracy than yes. I find it a bit contemptible that the numbers game is always played by the anti-war folks. They wouldn't bat an eye if the cost of lives and $$ were in fact spent on something they approved of, then it's okay by them.

Funny thing is that we could be further along if a third of this country was actively working against government progress in Iraq-yes it is worth the money just as our freedom would be worth it