Americaca: is Iraq worth it?

A friend writes:
"The war in Iraq has become a war of attrition. The Sunnis ran Iraq for decades and will not be driven from their homeland until they are either killed off or change their mind about joining a coalition government. Fighting to the death as so-called 'insurgents' has been their choice so far. I believe it will continue until enough of their leadership dies. Their financial support comes from Sunnis from outside, namely Saudis who are Sunnis, and from the vast billions of wealth accumulated from decades of oil money. Weapons are stored everywhere. What we see in Iraq today is what it will be for the foreseeable future. Question: Is this worth having American soldiers killed daily, the American military wrecked and the American economy sacked?"
I happen to think my friend has a point. What do you think?
Here's a very apropos story, of a journalist who wrote a piece about the 'insurgents' or 'resistance' (terrorists? freedom fighters?). She interviewed them over 10 months. It tells of the dangers that it placed her in -- from the insurgents and from her own country.
And here is the excellent Robert Fisk on how we've brutalized ourselves in this war.
And here is an interesting piece about the myths of the enemy about us, and our myths about them and ourselves.
And here is the excellent Naomi Klein on how to end the war in Iraq. Sample:
"In looking at democracy in Iraq, we first need to make the distinction between elections and democracy. The reality is the Bush administration has fought democracy in Iraq at every turn. Why? Because if genuine democracy ever came to Iraq, the real goals of the war—control over oil, support for Israel, the construction of enduring military bases, the privatization of the entire economy—would all be lost. Why? Because Iraqis don’t want them and they don’t agree with them. They have said it over and over again—first in opinion polls, which is why the Bush administration broke its original promise to have elections within months of the invasion."
Always remember: when the administration goes apeshit about elections in Iraq, or whatever, it's because they believe their own propaganda -- and you're rather gullible if you get taken in, too. I don't believe the Bush administration is totally cynical: at this point they've actually hyped themselves into believing that they DO want to bring democracy to Iraq.
But when that democracy happens, and the Iraqis have a Shiite government that bonds with Iran, and shares nuclear technology with them, and at worst hates us, and at best is utterly suspicious of us, it'll be real interesting what story we spin ourselves. The whole Iraq thing is an exercise in unreality, because it's not about what's actually happening -- it's all about the story we spin ourselves. No way can we admit it's an adventure in imperialism. That's what history may decide, but that won't be the history we write. We need the spin more than the truth; that's what every nation wants; that's the very definition of nationalism, a good story about ourselves, unrelated to reality.