More on the subject of Iraq, from another thread:
The whole reason we supported the butcher in the first place was as a buffer for a zealous Shi'ite regime in Iran, that might have been motivated to start a jihad against the Saudi regime, towards which it is hostile, for the sake of control of Mecca and Medina, and, not so incidentally, the lion's share of the earth's proven oil reserves. The Iranians are less dangerous now, but not wholly tamed, and Assad still entertains hopes of a Greater Syria that would, if pursued, be seriously destabilizing. Plus, the Turks and Iranians are terrified of a Kurdish rump state, and might set upon the Kurds with renewed ferocity if they felt threatened. All of which is to say that you are right, even the elimination of Saddam Hussein may not result in a favorable outcome... |
