D***ed If We Didn't, And D***ed That We Did

Submitted by orange yonason (United States), Jul 8, 2009 at 21:13

B"H

Unfortunately, we haven't earned the gratitude of Iraqis, but probably their hatred. After all, we interrupted their passion for self destruction, and that is unforgivable. But, thankfully (from their point of view) they can now return to killing each other as befits their "honor."

The very fact that Muqtada al-Sadr is still alive tells me all I need to know about where this is all headed once Americans depart. He will doubtless return to the scene, along with other factions and Al Qaeda, all vying for power and doing what they do best, wreaking havoc and destruction. I don't know enough about the internal dynamics of Iraq to predict the details of how the chaos will evolve, but I think I have seen enough of their behavior to know they have no desire for civilizatioin, and so will sink back to the level of disorder they are most comfortable with.

Nevertheless, even though we haven't made a new "friend" or "partner for peace in the M.E." we will still have achieved an important goal if we have managed to remove or destroy the knowhow to produce WMD so that it won't be available when our enemies return, as would have been the case if we hadn't acted when we did.

I'm afraid it was necessary to remove Saddam. However, I'm also afraid that there probably never was any suitable "exit strategy" that would have secured a stable or friendly Iraq. As much as they suffered under and hated Saddam, being liberated from him by "The Great Satan" will no doubt long remain far more than their "honor" can bear.

So, my overall assessment of our "victory" there is that...

It was the right thing to do; it was the wrong thing to. And now that it's over, the unintended consequences will soon begin. But regardless, we had no other option, as it was indeed the right thing to do. Why? Because a very profound evil has been removed from the World, and even though what follows will not be good, it will be nowhere near as bad as it would have been had we left Saddam in power.

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