Why We Went To War?

In my vacation, I stopped short in a Charles Krauthammer column:

McCain, like George Bush, envisions the United States seizing the fruits of victory from a bloody and costly war by establishing an extensive strategic relationship that would not only make the new Iraq a strong ally in the war on terror but would also provide the U.S. with the infrastructure and freedom of action to project American power regionally, as do U.S. forces in Germany, Japan and South Korea.

For example, we might want to retain an air base to deter Iran, protect regional allies and relieve our naval forces, which today carry much of the burden of protecting the Persian Gulf region, thus allowing redeployment elsewhere.

If president Bush had asked the country to invade and occupy Iraq in order to add "infrastructure and freedom of action to project American power regionally," do you think he would have persuaded anyone? More to the point: do you think he should have?