We take over supposedly in order to stop the populace from being tortured and beaten to death in captivity. I believe the plan was something like "We will be greeted as liberators," until they messed it all up by not doing that.
Finally, millions of internet commandos swarm to insist that the only way to control the insurgency is to torture them for "intelligence" and rule them with a violent, iron fist. (and a widely prevalent but unspoken desire to put them through woodchippers)
Do your homework, then try again. Again, like so many - you are attempting to apply what you think is worldly logic to what is in reality your narrow field of vision.
TBM is correct - your post represents a terribly simplistic view of a very complex problem. Your comments reflect a borderline naive point of view; that we (America) supposedly toppled the Baathist regime simply to end Saddam's mistreatment of his people and that we are now the perpetrators of such violence.
It only takes a hasty look at Georgia, Chechnya, Turkey, Libya, and the myriad of other countries whose governments seem to get by with large-scale torture without incurring direct military action by the United States to realize that perhaps whoever told you that our sole intent was to "stop the torture in the prisons" might have been a little shortsighted.
The jihadists were indeed in Iraq prior to the invation in 2003. However, unless you weren't paying attention, Saddam was an both an Arab and a muslim, if only marginally. His popularity stemmed mostly from the way he "stood up" to Israel and America - which only goes to show how deep the hatred of the West is; he was reviled for his treatment of his own people, but they respected his stance towards "The Great Satan"...
We did not invade Iraq to stop the torturing in the prisons - that was simply a bonus. And no matter what you hear from your leftist news outlets, nothing we have done to date holds a candle to the things that were done before we arrived, by his people, on his watch, under his orders. People today think that corporal punishment at school is "torture"; that allowing someone being put to death for their crimes to feel uncomfortable during their injection is "torture"; and that to endure someone yelling at you for more than a couple minutes is "torture". Get real - torture is lining a family up and killing them one by one until the father tells the police which of his friends is plotting against the government. Torture is killing the mayor and his family for working with the foriegners who are trying to coordinate with the city council the rebuilding of their hospital. Torture is what they did to Nick Berg and a dozen others.
The goal in Iraq was to create a self-sustaining democracy. The jihadists were there before. IIRC, 9/11 happened BEFORE we invaded Iraq, and I'm pretty sure that little episode was planned and executed by jihadists. The bombing of the USS Cole happened pre-OIF as well, as did the bombing of the US Embassy in Beruit. The list goes on.
You people think that we blundered into Iraq, then you need to do a little more research. You think that we "failed" - but in reality it is the Iraqis themselves who are failing. No amount of intelligence would have predicted that the Iraqis would rather self-destruct than live free.
And what's worse - those Iraqis who would rather self-destruct are only a minority of the population. There are 18 provinces in Iraq and all but two of them are as safe as your neighborhood. All of the "interviews" and "press" that comes out of Iraq? You guess it - comes straight out of those two provinces. Ever wonder why the media never "interviews" any educated Iraqis out of Baghdad? Ever wonder why the "media" never talks to any but the Bedouin and the rural farmers and isolated cities that see the most fighting? It's because their view is as narrow as yours - they have no idea what's really going on with their country...but their comments sure make damn good soundbites.
If the Iraqis didn't think we were necessary, then their government would not keep asking us to stay. And if you think their government is simply a group of Western puppets, perhaps you should read up on Iraq's leaders - specifically Jalal Talibani, Ibrahim Jaafari, and Adnan Pachachi.
You need to arm yourself a little better before you walk into a conversation like this. The jihadists are masters at propoganda and manipulating the media - and people here at home swallow it every time.
