If the Left had any intellectual honesty whatsoever
Mark, I don't think anyone (well, no-one credible ;-) denied Saddam was despicable, a despot, and his rule a tyranny of fear and oppression, torture and suppression of freedom. The main reason America went into this war, however, wasn't to free the Iraqi people but because of the fear that Iraq was hiding WMD, and those WMD presented a direct if not immediate threat to the security of the US and other nations. Freeing the people of Iraq was a tertiary goal, and there are many equally corrupt and evil regimes around the world. America has in the past supported similar regimes (and of course, Saddam himself) when that suited.
The caches of weapons to date haven't provided that smoking gun (personally I won't be surprised if WMD, or evidence of development and deployment programmes, are discovered).
Most of those who opposed the war didn't oppose it because they thought Saddam was a great guy. They opposed it for one of
a) they oppose all war
b) they did not feel there was sufficient evidence (yet at least) of the existance of the WMD or programmes they were accused of harboring
c) they did not feel that any country or group of countries should take such pre-emptive measures
d) they felt that if action were necessary it should be under the aegis of the UN
and so on. Don't get me wrong, I'm not here arguing for or against any of these. And definitely don't get me wrong, it is wonderful to see Iraq get an opportunity out from under the brutal boot of a ruthless tyrant. I celebrate the fall of tyrants wherever and whenever they occur.
But finding caches of regular weapons, clear and irrefutable evidence of torture and terrible mistreatment of the Iraqi populace, lavish living by the elite in the midst of death and want by the general populace and so on, none of these answer what motivated most opponents to the action. I'll have no respect for the intellectual honesty of those who opposed the war because they believed there were no WMD, if when/if those are found, these opponents don't admit they were wrong and their opposition was wrong.
Glad to see you back, it seems like a long time, and I've missed your presence on the threads.
Best regards
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