Sparhawk

As fun as flaming can be, I'll make a half-hearted effort to respond to this article.

While true that:
This began prior to Saddam's takeover, and was true through much of the 70s. However, the 8-year war with Iran destroyed the economy, not to mention the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Then the slaughter of the Kurds in '88, and the invasion of Kuwait in '90...

There's an incredible potential in Iraq, I'll give them that. They're still a hard-working, educated people, in spite of having to live through one of the worst moments in their history.

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"In Iraq, no doubt about it, it's tough. It's hard work. It's incredibly hard. It's - and it's hard work. I understand how hard it is. I get the casualty reports every day. I see on the TV screens how hard it is. But it's necessary work. We're making progress. It is hard work."