Does Iraq war really end?

Was it worth it?

While we're all celebrating the pullout of most of our troops from Iraq, the question remains: Was it worth it?

Obviously, not.

We lost nearly 4,500 troops and around 30,000 seriously injured. It should be noted that advancement in medical technology reduced the number killed, but dramatically raised the number of those who will need daily assistance for the rest of their lives.

The clincher: More Iraqis lost their lives under America's invasion and occupation than were lost under Saddam Hussein.

When you destroy the village in order to save it, you lose the war.

It was true in Vietnam. It is true in Iraq.

First off, there was no justification for the invasion of Iraq. They had no connection to al Qaeda or 9/11.

They had no weapons of mass destruction, particularly those that form a mushroom cloud.

By invading Iraq under false pretenses, it emboldened other Third World countries to acquire nuclear weapons sooner, rather than later. 

In what became known as a war of choice, Operation Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn was really just another war over oil: Chapter two, or was it three, of the Petroleum Wars.

By surrendering to our addiction to foreign oil, America and Britain suffered almost irreparable harm to their reputations as defenders of freedom.

Almost, I say, because we have President Obama to shore up our flagging reputation.

It's a difficult task, but it takes someone with brains, rather than brawn, to accomplish this.

First off, it takes a skilled mind to manage the disruptions to conventional wisdom that the Arab spring caused.

If we had Bush Jr. in power or some other neo-con, it would've been disastrous. We would've invaded Libya or Syria with significant loss of American lives and with no tangible gains, much like Iraq.

As it was, we didn't invade Libya or any other Middle-Eastern country.

Yes, they're now more likely to adopt radical-Muslim, anti-woman, anti-American, anti-Israeli positions, but, unfortunately, that is the will of the people in those intellectually-backwards lands.

Muslim countries, without question, choose ignorance over enlightenment.

Civil war will likely break out in earnest in Iraq.

Iran will likely take control of Iraq and flex its wimpy muscles at Israel.

Israel will likely retaliate and then we'll finally have the Armageddon that doomsayers have longed for.

We may have another Mideast war.

Or, we'll just go shopping.