SH, that is bad. Even worse was the fact that the violence involved hundreds of thousands of civilians. I think the majority of,the population wanted Sadaam gone, but they didn't want the US Army controlling their country either.
Then that conflict facilitated the violence and murder of ISIS.
You guys are both correct that the Iraq War was a bad move, especially in retrospect. However, I'm more skeptical of the idea that it's driving most of our current problems in the Middle East. That leaves out the possibility of other bad outcomes that reasonably could have occurred had we not gone. To be clear, these other bad outcomes don't justify the war. However, they are worth considering when evaluating the scope of the harm done by the war.
Let's consider a few things that I think we all recognize. First, the Middle East has been a powder keg literally for thousands of years. It didn't start with the Iraq War and wouldn't have ended without it. It didn't even start with Islamic conquest. It's just a part of the world that virtually has never known lasting peace.
Second, the theory that the Iraq War led to ISIS is true, but it doesn't mean that ISIS or something like it wouldn't have occurred without the Iraq War. ISIS grew out of Al Qaeda in Iraq, but its leadership was from all over the Middle East. They exploited the situation in Iraq, but had that option not been available, they would have had a lot of other options. They could have gone to Egypt, Yemen, or Libya. Hell, they still could have gone to Syria. Keep in mind that the Syrian Civil War has many sides. That's what makes it such a mess. The ISIS angle is part of it, but it's not the only issue.
Third, we need to ponder what a Hussein-driven Iraq would look like today. He was a pretty bad hombre - definitely not a friend to the West. Would be have played ball with or harbored Islamic radicals (like Al Qaeda or ISIS leaders) had he remained in power? Maybe, maybe not. He was a state sponsor of terrorism, so I don't think we can rule it out.
Another thing to remember, Hussein wouldn't be a spring chicken if still living. He'd be well into his 80s - easily old enough to die or lose power. What would happen if and when that occurred? Most likely, chaos.
I'm not suggesting that the war didn't cause major problems. It definitely did, but the more time passes, the more attenuated that contention gets.
Frankly, I think it damaged us politically more than anything else. When we claim that a bad apple is dangerous, the rest of the world will be far less deferential to us. Furthermore, the West is "war weary" because of the war. That's why I roll my eyes when I hear guys like Trump claim they could have gotten a much better deal from Iran. Iran was in the driver's seat in that deal, because they knew that the West didn't have the stomach to fight them even if they got a nuclear weapon. That factor was present largely because of the Iraq War.
The war also had a major impact on US domestic policy. Without the War, Democrats probably don't take control of Congress in 2006. That means the Bush second term domestic agenda doesn't die. It means entitlement reform likely passes. By today, we'd be trillions ahead if it had. Furthermore, immigration reform likely would have passed, and of course, that probably would have meant no Trump.
