This is indeed a time of victory and celebration, for the US and coalition forces, as well as for those Iraqis who hope for a better life, free from dictatorship.
The hope is for a true democratic Iraq, eventually, but many problems will have to be overcome first.
That said, the stated reason for the war was never to free the Iraqis, but supposedly had to do with WMDs, Al Qaeda, terrorism, and a great threat to the US and the world. None of these were ever proven. That is the part that irked me the most. Bush/Blair never told us the "real" reason for war, and their explanations were insulting for even my limited intelligence.
The big winners are the "coalition", US & Brit. forces and Israel. If I were living in Israel, I would let out a great sigh of relief, as the US is now in position to guarantee Israel's security.
The lofty ideal of a democratic Iraq and democratic surrounding countries ensures a long term peace, as democracies seldom, if ever, go to war with each other. Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia etc. will be watching this with much fear, and will no doubt do what they can to undermine this effort.
Unfortunately the cost of war and freedom will be shouldered by firstly the Iraqis themselves through their expanded oil revenues and most likely to a degree, all of us in various ways. But now is the time for retribution and leveling of old scores, and it will be ugly, no doubt.
Phil |
