When the war started it didn't have much if anything to do with the economy. Now however the average American is starting to feel the pain of an economy in decline. Not many people realize how much money the war in Iraq is costing the US but they will soon. It only takes one "expert" on Good Morning America or some other news show to create a public movement to pull out of Iraq. That cannot happen right now because countries like China will jump on our backs saying "Iraq was better off before we interfered..." If the US doesn't keep its reputaion as peacekeeper we will find ourselves fighting the world with only Britian and the weaker European countries as our allies. That may sound far-fetched now but China is getting to powerful, with an ambitious government not to pose a threat. If the outcome of the war in Iraq doesn't show America in a favorable light it will be twenty years at the most before a war breaks out with America on the losing side.