I just don't understand--they knew that all of this was going to happen, and yet they did it anyway? We're severely depleting our military for economic (oil) reasons, and yet in doing so, we're indebting ourselves to China and Saudi Arabia. Will the return value of this newly-gained oil offset that? Is oil that valuable, or do they have reason to believe that it will become that valuable?

Am I missing something, here?

I don't much care for arguing the morality/ethics of the situation, but I'm trying to understand that practical value of this war. What are we getting out of being in Iraq?

There's gotta be something, but I'm not seeing it, and I don't know how to find out.