First, I'm not Erik. I picked xjackel because it had xj in it and all the good one's were taken. Second, we went to war b/c we were attacked by a clearly defined enemy, not a group of radicals. Do you think we should send troops to Israel? Hitler killed the six million people b/c of their race and he declared war on America. These things are not close in comparison. The competing groups in the middle east are fighting for what they think is right, so besides getting them all to come to an agreement things won't change. All we've done is ad our opinion to the mix and cause more damage.
Whether we are at minding our business or fighting overseas, terrorists will hate us and want to kill us. They hate us because we support the Jews. They hate us because we aren't Muslim. The Qu'ran states that you are to convert or be killed. Not all Muslims enforce that but that's a big part of the extremists' ideology.
Do some research on Muhammad. Everything he said is considered law. If he said it, Muslims are supposed to do it. If he did it, it is considered the right thing to do. Look him up and tell me if you think we should sit by and let people influenced by him attempt to run stuff.
As for the rest of your points:
1. Saddam's tyranny may have controlled them, but at what cost? He murdered millions. He'd set prisoners loose in an indoor hunting ground and have his sons, as young as 10 or so, hunt them down and kill them.
2. We're fighting people who want us dead. Simple as that. Most of the people we're fighting in Iraq are being shipped in from other Muslim nations.Talk to people who have actually been there, the Iraqis who lived under Saddam are happy to be rid of him.
3. So, because we did something wrong back then, we should never do the right thing again? Faulty logic. At the time Iran was a bigger threat to us than Iraq and giving them money was a better way to keep Iran in check then sending troops.
4. Because as you pointed out, the majority wants the minority dead. We leave and the Kurds are dead.
5. Those two countries are where the groups fighting us are based.
6. Yeah, chances are good that Osama's not there anymore. The Taliban is still there. Al Qaeda still operates there. Our mission has changed. We're trying to stabilize the area so that fewer people are willing to go blow themselves up in order to provide for their families' well-being.
And yes, you are among the extreme minority on this forum.