9/11 was provocation, not self-defense. And the US fell for it.

As Condi Rice sez: "US foreign policy is about defending US interests." That's basically it.

It's not about democracy, it's about corporate expansion into new markets. The ME is largely nationalized economies. US Corporations don't like that and wanted in. The US also wanted to control the oil flows, and positioning ourselves in Iraq, kicking out the puppet-who-turned-on-us (Saddam), was the way to do it.

Remember, Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Not a thing. The hijackers were largely Saudi, and trained by Al Qaeda. Bin Laden did not like Saddam because Iraq was secular. Not Islamic.

At the moment, US forces are effectively backing a government who is creating a "constitution" that ignores two large factions of the country, and pushes heavily towards an Islamic state. So we are effectivley fighting to create an Islamic authoritarian governement (Shiite).

If we did actually "implement" democracy (how does one do that again with bombs and stuff?), the Iraqis would vote us out of the country in a New York minute. Already a majority want US out of there. Besides, our presence is only fueling jihadi resistance from all quarters.

Democracy? My ass.