So, we invaded Iraq to find Weapons of Mass Distractions, but we did not find any. Are we going to plant some now?
So, we invaded Iraq to change the regime and bring democracy to Iraq. But they are saying: Go away Yankee. Go home.
So, over 60% of Iraqis want an Islamic Republic, and we are saying whatever 60% want is not a democracy? It is an Ayatollah stuff.
So, what is it we want? Democracy? Oil? What is it we want, having invaded that country? What is going on?
You enjoyed Gulf War II?
Stay tuned for Iranian Revolution II - The Mullah Returns.
“Shia class” - Empire
We wanted good TV ratings or somethin’ I think…
We wanted a victory, to show that America could still have a definitive one.
Iraq has always been majority Shi’ite, what did we THINK was going to happen?
And our WMD evidence was based on the same intelligence system that failed to predict the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the 9/11 attacks. So suddenly they’ve got all this good information?
We’re developing East Texas. Oil wells…guns…Six Flags Over Basra!
Actually we’re probably fixing infrastructure and doing something about humanitarian aid, while the iraqi committees do their thing about establishing an interim government. See msnbc home page for that - elections within 4 weeks.
Hey, they have schlitterbahn in Texas. Maybe they can make a schlitter-basra! Something tells me a Waterpark in Iraq is an instant hit. 
Nitpicks on the OP:
*There may be a 60 percent majority by the Shiites over the population of Iraq but not all Shiites want an Islamic Republic.
*We dont have to plant WoMD. theyre there. Give it until middle of July. Heres my thread for pausible deniablility (yes shameless plug) http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=180416
*Above all things, we want peace in that region. The economic prosperity that peace in the middle east will bring would make oil from Iraq insignificant.
Winning?
To simplify things: I still don’t see how waging wars promotes peace.
That’s something I am going to believe when impartial weapons inspectors are allowed to verify it.
Elections in 4 weeks! Just how are the Iraqi people going to get to know who the candidates are, let alone make up their minds how to vote? Remember, they have no TV and, mostly, no electricity yet, or any concept of fair voting. And we still have to convince them that the candidates we consider acceptable are the ones they should vote for. I probably don’t have to mention that the Shiite majority seem to be in favor of a Islamic based government.
4 months, or more, is more like it.
Bob
Taking over.
Re: What is it we want?
Oil, entrenched geopolitical power from controlling said oil, a bigger military presence in the Middle East, and a big “f**k you” to the rest of the world.
In my opinion, any evidence found by the US will be circumspect. If the US ‘unilaterally’ discovers weapons of mass destruction in Iraq they will have completely and irrevocably destroyed any chance of legitimizing this war. Independent inspectors must be sent in ASAP, not after the fact (or worse, never).
bo989, you may be interested in my thread, “Why not use third party verfication for WoMD hunt?”, on that very point.
What are we doing in Iraq?
Flexing our muscle, exerting our power. While it may not be imperialism in the colonial sense, it is at least the 21st century version.
What do we want?
To appease Osama bin Laden’s demands?
OK, I’m not sure I buy into that, but this article, “U.S. ends operations in Saudi Arabia” generates my suspicions. Especially coming a few months after this Washington Post article, "U.S.-Saudi Alliance Appears Strong ", which included these comments:
Things that make you say, “Hmmm”.
IMHO, there’s no real plan behind this. The rest of the world is getting scared about a bunch of macho nut-jobs in the U.S.
There’s no mileage in this for the Al-Sauds, it just inflames the populace.
The only way it makes sense is in the Orwellian sense: War is Peace.
Create stability by promoting instability.
End terrorism by fostering the conditions that promote terrorism.
We went into Iraq because otherwise the media might have actually paid attention to the sputtering economy.
Who here thinks we will void the results of the upcoming election if they vote in something we don’t want?
SMeat:
“Stay tuned for Iranian Revolution II - The Mullah Returns.”
I lauched so hard my side hurts. Unfortunately, you may be right. Perhaps we can hold off the Mullahs long enough to get some progress made on the Israeli/Palestinian issue.
But I really do think we’ll do our best to get a democrcatic gov’t (it’s hard to write that without smirking) in Iraq. It’s just really unlikely to last very long. I think I read in the paper today (Friedmans column) something about the futility of trying to hold back the desert. An apt metaphore.
By fighting a smaller war focused on removing a regime that is a deterrant of peace, rather than fighting a whole region artificially propped up with WoMD. One must sometimes take a step back to make bigger steps forward.
I dont think the US military would be stupid enuf to naively go “Hey world, we found it. Uh its here look! look! no really its theirs, We Swear! we just found it here. No foolin! For real!”
Any weapons they find would have corroborating evidence such as paperwork, eye witnesses, scientific peer review, testimony from former regime insiders, and CIA tracking from before the war. I would think that they probably would not present a site as proof unless they can back it up with other evidence. I also think that if Saddam Hussien was caught driving a missile carrier with nerve gas warheads towards the Syrian border, there will be people who would suspect that was a setup by the US.
Tha’s the inefficient way; far easier to simply make sure the only candidates on the ballot are folks who we do want.
And don’t provide a write-in option, either. 