There is one assumption I want to look at. Everybody thinks that this administration didn't have a plan when they went into Iraq. Well I'm not so sure that as far as they are concerned that everything is going according to plan. I don't believe that they wanted to go in, kick out Saddam, setup a democracy and be out in a year. If that was the case they could not effectively steal Iraq's resources and US taxpayer money. It is a very cynical view but these people see the US military as a less expensive security option for their corporations than mercenaries. If you owned a corporation wouldn't you rather use taxpayer subsidized security than pay for it out of your own pocket? The other thing is the ongoing insurgency is great cover for stories like this,
High Payments to Halliburton for Fuel in Iraq. Just something to think about.