The same ice storm causing hell to freeze over will also what will result in conservatives giving Obama and the Dems any credit for anything. Iraq is no better off than it was before the invasion, and in some respects they are worse off. Before the invasion most residents of Baghdad had electricity and running water, now they do not. The International Red Cross report into humanitarian conditions in Iraq says: http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/iraq-report-170308/$file/ICRC-Iraq-report-0308-eng.pdf In an interview, Dr. Sundus Abass, Director of Women in Leadership Institute in Baghdad says, How are Women in Iraq Faring Now? / Library / Issues and Analysis / Home - AWID This is a very interesting paper presented by Nadje Al-Ali, The Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, UK: Act Together: Women's Action for Iraq A first hand account by Raed Jarrar of the "improvements" seen by the residents of Iraq: Iraq: Seven Years of Occupation | CommonDreams.org The only positive things to have come out of Iraq have been that many US companies have made a lot of money on supplying materials for the war and the farcical reconstruction effort. Some Americans may feel safer too, but I seem to recall that this war was about "liberating the Iraqi's from an evil dictator who threatened the safety of the entire world with his weapons." Well, 7 years later and we're still looking for those weapons. It's a pesky little issue I grant you. I'm sure the Iraqi people go to bed every night thanking the West for "improving" their life by removing their access to health services, education, running water, electricity, etc. Hey, if the US doesn't want to look after the health of its citizens, that's fine, but Iraq is a soverign nation (although many in the US and its govt like to forget that too).