I Did Not Know This

Sullivan argues Gore would have gone to war in Iraq post 9/11.

This line of argument aligns with Christopher Hitchen's position that a military showdown with Saddam's Iraq was always in our future, whether we wanted it or not. Furthermore, the dissolution of Iraqi civil society post-Saddam was always going to be an issue for us to deal with.

If you take this premise, there are a lot worse outcomes imaginable than the present. Imagine Saddam's regime collapsing from inside, a civil war breaking out, without any US or Western troops in the way. It would be a haven for Al Queda and like minded groups in the heart of the Middle East, with a theocratic Iran financing one side and an autocratic Saudi Arabia funding the other. Throw in the possibility of both sides racing for a bomb and Israel's legitimate fears. Now that would be chaos...