One Year Later<snip>
It's nonetheless important to remember that
none of this might have happened if we had known then what we know now. No matter what the president believed about the long-term threat posed by Saddam Hussein, he would have had a much harder time selling this war of choice to the American people if they had known that the Iraqi dictator had been reduced to a toothless tiger by the first Persian Gulf war and by United Nations weapons inspectors. Iraq's weapons programs had been shut down, Mr. Hussein had no threatening weapons stockpiled, the administration was exaggerating evidence about them, and there was, and is, no evidence that Mr. Hussein was involved in the 9/11 attacks.
Right now, our highest priority is making the best of a very disturbing situation.
<snip>
In the short run, the invasion of Iraq and the toppling of its leader have done virtually nothing to stop terrorism.
<snip>
The innocent Iraqi casualties of Mr. Bush's war are literally countless because the Pentagon refuses to estimate their number.
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