Iraq — one year after
One year after, there is no "popular resistance" to the coalition forces who liberated the long-suffering people of Iraq from the crime syndicate known at the Baath Party. The vast majority of Iraqis are glad Saddam is gone.
One year after, a rag-bag assortment of terrorists are killing their fellow Muslims at random in Iraq because they have failed miserably to impact the coalition militarily. The way of the suicide-bomber leads unto the grave.
One year after, the professional gloomsayers are still filling their newspaper columns and TV slots with bleak predictions about Iraq. The Arab street is not paying any attention, however.
One year after, Iraq has joined such moderate regional states as Turkey, Jordan and Israel in an attempt to escape a repressive past and embrace a modern present. The Syrian dictator, the Iranian theocrat and the Saudi autocrat and their thuggish enforcers have cause for concern.
One year after, the Iraqis are concentrating on constructing a civil society with a leadership whose priorities do not include invading their neighbours, developing weapons of mass destruction and ripping off the country's natural resources. The criminal enterprise known as the "Oil-For-Food Program" will never be repeated.
One year after, Colonel Gaddafy has handed over Libya's store of deadly weapons and A Q Khan?s role in selling Pakistani nuclear technology has been exposed. The collateral benefits of regime change are substantial.
One year after, the world owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the United States for its determination to reform the Middle East. The job has just begun.
Will Iraqis demonstrate on their streets a decade from now and shout anti-American slogans while doing so? More than likely. That's human nature; one mustn't expect gratitude. After all, Americans fought and died in Europe during the 20th century to save France from Germany (twice) and save Germany from fascism and communism but hatred of America is a reflex action in both countries. Still, the French and the Germans who rant and rave are able to do so in freedom. Just as the Iraqis can now do. Hitler didn't triumph, Stalin didn't succeed, Saddam lost. One year after, this is a better world.
