Aaron Goldstein asked a question that probably would have garnered the label “unpatriotic conservative” eight years ago:

I have given a great deal of thought to the War in Iraq since President Obama announced that all American troops would be withdrawn at the end of this year after he failed to obtain an extension to the 2008 Status of Forces Agreement signed by former President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. I found myself asking a question I thought I would never pose.

Should Saddam Hussein have stayed in power?

He’s on to something, although he should be asking, “should the United States have invaded Iraq?” Saddam Hussein was a monster, but for all of President Bush’s prattle about the “threat” from Iraq, he was in no position to attack the U.S. and his humiliating capture demonstrated that he had no death wish. Invading Iraq was a foreseeable disaster; but if memory serves, right-wing websites and publications allowed no dissent on the issue when it mattered.