Thanks for sharing your experience, your insight, perspective and your service Blue.
I don't agree with any moral philosophy of installing our way of life in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world for that matter, and never have. There are too many bad happenings elsewhere for us to be suddenly concerned with the human rights of those who supply us oil or the hidey hole for terrorists motivated by people looking to consolidate the industry(if we're being honest and dropping the world domination rhetoric). The truth about war is often marred in morality or even religious motivation (think one as derived from the other), but at heart is always for money (always follow the money) and power.
The Libertarian voice in me conspires that we not only do we need to stop spending money and blood on foreign soil to support our oil interest, but we need to allow our market to make it's own correction. Let the world scramble at high gas prices, and let Americans do what we do best: adapt, overcome and profit.