Quote Originally Posted by Behold the Void
I'm not trying to claim it, I AM claiming it. I've friends in the military who've confirmed this. It's quite strategic really. We're closing our bases in Germany, and we're constructing many, many more bases in Iraq (which is where a good deal of the money is going. Well, that and restitutions for the stuff in Iraq we accidentally blew up). We have Iran cornered, and we have the perfect staging ground for a military operation.
You could say I have friends in the military too. Most of them, especially those who've been in Iraq, realize what's really happening, and that it's not that we're just going to find more and more places to invade.

And yes, nik0tine, we've all heard your "America is trying to take over and/or control the world" argument.

First of all, we're establishing permanent basis in Iraq, and drawing out of our permanent basis in Germany, because we no longer need to be in Germany and we do need to be in Iraq. Is it really that hard to understand? I highly doubt we'll have a massive force in Iraq for a long time--we're already starting to pull troops out--but we will have an established presence there for a while, until they get a stable government set up and longer. This doesn't mean it's to stage to invade somebody else ('cause you know, those damn Republicans aren't happy unless they're at war with somebody, right?), this doesn't mean that any of the ridiculous and completely false "blood-for-oil" arguments are anywhere near true, it means that Iraq needs to be stabilized and they need a military presence there until that happens.

Second of all, if and when we do invade Iran, we could go though Afghanistan, as The Redneck pointed out. Or, we could stage a bombardment in Kuwait, then march a bit through Iraq on the way there. Or, depending on the support we have from other countries surrounding Iran, we could find another country to launch attacks out of. Iraq is not an extremely strategic location, unless we're planning to invade and take over the entire Middle East--which, though such a ridiculous notion is believed by some, isn't practical or logical in the least bit. In short, whatever we need to do, we can do without Iraq.

Last, but certainly not least... We did not "accidentally" blow things up. When you have missiles that can find and go through windows, it's hard to miss. There's certain infrastructure that needs to be taken out of commission for a short time, but is then rebuilt, and at this point more people in Iraq have simple things like electricity, running water, sewers, and phones than any point in the last thirty years.