re: Did we just do in Iran in one afternoon what it took over a decade to do in Iraq?

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Serious question, no disrespect to the soldiers (probably in this thread) who served in Iraq. Not personally, but collectively, what did the U.S. accomplish in Iraq? A friend I graduated college with died in 2005 in Iraq (Bradley/IED). I’m certain you military guys know how horrific a death those guys suffered. Though his family was very proud of him and patriotic, years later, I met up with his brother and he had grown very bitter over the ‘why’ of the occupation. What is your insight? thx

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No disrespect at all. It’s a fair question and one that many of us asked ourselves quite a bit.

I think the country, on balance, is a much better place to live in 2026 than it was in 2002. From everything I know and the people I keep in contact with, they would mostly agree. Much of that is due to the superhuman efforts of the American people - uniformed and not -over the last twenty-plus years.

Now, was it worth it? That’s an entirely different question. 5,000 American KIA, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dead, a region destabilized, two vicious insurgencies, on and on and on.