[The Decider]

Quote by: harami The president is constitutionally the commander in chief. I agree with Zeebadee's analysis. .For example, most agree that Lyndon Johnson screwed up the Viet Nam war with personal micro management.

No, most historians agree that the Vietnam War was a mistake from the get go.

And while the president is commander in chief, the Congress is overseer of that commander in chief and the military. You may not like the Congress but the constitution is fairly clear on this issue. Congress controls the purse strings and the investigative machinery.

Quote by: harami Just imagine what a senate's worth of micro-managers would do, or most likely, not do. In my jaded opinion, most people in congress and the senate are accountable for nothing except tending to their constituents whims and problems (aka "getting re-elected").

Whereas President Bush is apolitical I suppose. Utter hogwash.

Quote by: harami It doesn't bother me that Bush may be contradicted by 3 generals. Lincoln had to go through quite a few to find one who could win.

Lincoln replaced incompetant generals, not generals who fundamentally disagreed with the war. Could you explain why you believe Abizaid, Casey, and Powell were incompetant?

Quote by: harami These generals play into the media and politics, and that is not the same as determining the best course to win quickly. It is more akin to demagoguery.

Please explain why you believe that Abizaid, Casey, and Powell are "demagogues."

Quote by: harami The other side of the coin, for all the critics here, is to answer the quesion "What would the world be like today if the US has not invaded Iraq". That takes some reflection to answer, some recalling of the world political situation at the time of the invasion. Maybe it should be a new thread.

We would have more troops available for Afghanistan, for one thing. Our national honor would not reek of feces. And 3,000 young Americans and 100,000+ Iraqis would still be alive. That's the very short list of benefits.