It's a good thing.

"There have been disagreements in this matter, among old and valued friends. Those differences belong to the past. All of us can now agree that the fall of the Iraqi dictator has removed a source of violence, aggression, and instability in the Middle East. It's a good thing that the demands of the United Nations were enforced, not ignored with impunity. It is a good thing that years of illicit weapons development by the dictator have come to the end. It is a good thing that the Iraqi people are now receiving aid, instead of suffering under sanctions. And it is a good thing that the men and women across the Middle East, looking to Iraq, are getting a glimpse of what life in a free country can be like." [emphasis added]

"President Bush Reaffirms Resolve to War on Terror, Iraq and Afghanistan

Bush made no mention of the cost for not having a plan past the taking of Baghdad a year ago.

"On April 23, 2003, Andrew S. Natsios, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, laid out in a televised interview the costs to U.S. taxpayers of rebuilding Iraq. 'The American part of this will be $1.7 billion,' he said. 'We have no plans for any further-on funding for this.'

"That turned out to be off by orders of magnitude. The administration, which asked Congress for another $20 billion for Iraq reconstruction five months after Natsios made his assertion, has said it expects overall Iraqi reconstruction costs to be as much as $75 billion this year alone.

"The transcript of that interview has been pulled from the USAID Web site, the agency said, 'to reflect current statements and testimony on Iraq reconstruction.' The earlier $1.7 billion figure was 'the best estimate available at the time, based on very limited information about the conditions inside of Iraq.'"

And that's just the cost in dollars.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, has the bastard slipped the net?