Getting rid of Saddam militarily was always the right thing to do, and was something that had to be done ever since he first rose to power.

But there was no willpower to oppose him then. And since his rise to power happened in the middle of the Cold War, the thinking was that it was better to have a megalomaniac dictator in power, rather than a communist.

Saddam Hussein's rise, like any Stalinesque figure, culminated in his invasion of neighboring Kuwait.

Now there was willpower to oppose him. The Cold War was over and there were no Soviets to mess with the situation.

But Iraq War I was aborted mid execution. We stopped his takeover of Kuwait, and then quit before we finished the job. The tanks were rolling non stop towards Baghdad, but because there was no popular or political will to accept the sacrifice of men and money, it was cut short.

After September 11th, there was suddenly that popular and political willpower. Better for hundreds of body bags coming out of Iraq, rather than thousands of body bags in New York City or Los Angeles.

The Iraq War II was just the twelve year finale of a prematurely aborted Iraq War I.

The same applies to any place in the world where an evil military power is in rule. North Korea, Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba.

Evil madmen must be opposed. They are like cancers: they grow and spread.

But the willpower to stomach the cost to oppose them isn't always there, so they are first opposed in fits, appeasement, and "diplomacy".

Just look at the Western attitude of appeasement towards Hitler before World War II.

Did any of that work?

No, because military madmen only understand and respond to one thing: the application of force.

Evil Stalinesque madmen still exist in this world, and in great numbers, simply because the populace and the politicians don't really understand what is in jeopardy. Things like September 11th wake the populace and politicians up. Action becomes acceptable all of a sudden.

Osama bin Laden is a madman. The madman does what madmen do. BOOM! September 11th.

The U.S. goes: "Shit! Did he really just do that? What other madmen do we have to worry about?"

Saddam Hussein comes to mind.

The U.S.: "Well, hell if Osama didn't remind us that we have to clean house."

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the connection between September 11th and Iraq.