# The Democratic Domino Theory Revisited **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 2, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648 "2005-03-02T21:00:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/201 "2005-03-08T17:12:29Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Could be a long damn time, then - perhaps even up to the next election? Don’t fool yourself that the way things are now is the way things will always be. The insurgency, as measured by US troop deaths as well as Iraqi deaths, is getting _stronger_ now - what demonstrable trend do you extrapolate toward a date at which it will be over? I don’t know if you mean US deaths + Iraqi deaths, but if you look at US deaths alone, the trend has been going down for the last 4 months according to[this CNN site](http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/) (you have to click on "graphical breakdown of casualties). Not that I’m making light of these death numbers-- I think they’re deplorable. Just clarifying things. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/202 "2005-03-08T17:44:53Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Is this democracy on the march, or a reverse domino manuever? > [Thousands Answer Hezbollah Call in Beirut](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=2&u=/ap/20050308/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_syria) Yes, Hezbollah which is funded by Iran and Syria, probably one of the organisations which I hate the most in the Middle East. Hezbollah, the only militia within Lebanon in which it has not been disarmed. I don’t know why anyone would want to rain on the parade of Lebanon of actually trying to achieve independence in its own affairs, but hey it’s what I usually expect nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/203 "2005-03-08T18:00:30Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > I don’t know why anyone would want to rain on the parade of Lebanon of actually trying to achieve independence in its own affairs, but hey it’s what I usually expect nowadays. Cheering on freedom and democracy is all well and good, but treating a few demonstrations as proving the inevitable dialectic of history is just silly. > [@John Mace](#): > > the trend has been going down for the last 4 months according to this CNN site I’m not seeing your trend: ```auto month deaths per day 3-2005 1.75 2-2005 2.14 1-2005 4.1 12-2004 2.48 11-2004 4.7 10-2004 2.16 9-2004 2.9 8-2004 2.42 7-2004 1.87 6-2004 1.67 5-2004 2.71 4-2004 4.67 3-2004 1.68 2-2004 0.79 1-2004 1.68 ``` [Iraq coalition casualties](http://icasualties.org/oif/) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/204 "2005-03-08T18:36:58Z")
> [@manhattan](#): > > Not to put too fine a point on it, but yes. We’re not leaving Iraq before the insurgency is under control… Maybe, maybe not. Depends on what you mean by “control” Right now, it seems to me that we make the judgement that the Iraqi Security can deal with it, based on whatever standards we may deem appropriate. Lots of flexibility there. > [@](#): > > …and Ted Kennedy…Shut him up. We don’t do that sort of thing. Theres lots I agree with Unka Ted about, lots I don’t. He don’t lead, I don’t follow, and you don’t get it. > [@](#): > > …Here’s something specific the left can do: The Trotskyite pro-terrorists at International ANSWER are planning protests on March 19 demanding that the US leave Iraq now (and their usual litany of other stuff). Everybody’s on board that whether we should have gone in the first place leaving now is bad, right? So tell your lefty friends NOT TO GO TO THE PROTEST! The protests have a zero chance of changing our policy and a non-zero chance of embolding the insurgents. It sure would be nice if not a single patriotic American got conned into giving those ANSWER guys legitimacy… Legitimacy cannot be given, nor can it be rescinded. Its not a decision you or I can make, nor would I have it otherwise. Besides which, I’m not sure they’re wrong. I have a lot of sympathy for the “we broke it, we gotta fix it” view, but if I become convinced that our efforts are futile and counter-productive and offer us nothing more than needless and pointless sacrifice, then I will be in agreement with them. Not yet, but quite close. But I am not willing to puruse futile sacrifice in the vain hope that somehow things will turn miraculously peachy. A miracle that can then be claimed as planned and executed, like a man buying a lottery ticket hoping to pay for heart surgery. > [@](#): > > …Thanks, but there are way too many reflexive anti-Americans on that side… Stop that. Its obnoxious to suggest that only those who agree with you have America’s best interests at heart. I am every bit as much a patriot as yourself, and you can believe that or go pound burdocks. But are you trying to enlist my support, or my surrender? In the first instance, chances are slim, in the second, none whatsoever. > [@](#): > > …Redwood is for decks and hottubs. Duh… Don’t need a deck. Don’t want a hot tub. Prefer trees. Duh, yerself. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/205 "2005-03-08T19:07:12Z")
I would like people to tell me how much 'Western intereference there is in Lebanon and compare that to the influence Syria has, then see how ridiculous Hezbollah is making itself out to be. Numbers have an effect, but they’re not all important. [reports of supporters being transported across the border](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7023538/) > [@](#): > > At least one opposition leader said the pro-Syrian government pressured people to turn out Tuesday and some reports said Syria bused in people from across the border. > [@](#): > > Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim group, has been mobilizing its followers from across the country for the protest, also meant to denounce the U.N. resolution that also called for dismantling militias — a point Hezbollah sees as aimed at its well-armed military wing. Oh! So I wonder why they’d want Syria to stay, one wonders doesn’t it :rolleyes: Strange, Hezbollah would rather see the country be incited to violence and probable warfare to keep its militia, thats how I picture their demonstrations, they see a Syrian pullout as the precursor to their disarmnament, and eventual disbandment, so they’re going to pull out all they can to prove that the Syrian ‘brothers’ are really wanted in Lebanon. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/206 "2005-03-08T19:16:08Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > I’m not seeing your trend: > > [Iraq coalition casualties](http://icasualties.org/oif/) Your cite doesn’t distinguish between deaths due to hostile actions and deaths due to other causes (friendly fire, accidents, etc). The cite that I gave does this, and I was referring to the deaths due to hostile actions. If you’re trying to gauge the strength of the insurgency, one wouldn’t count US deaths due to an accidental helocopter crash, for example. At any rate, the number of deaths is still way too high. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/207 "2005-03-08T19:42:52Z")
Accidental deaths should be expected to be in proportion to the number of troops deployed. The totals should indeed reflect enemy action. [http://icasualties.org/oif/](http://icasualties.org/oif/) It took 295 days to reach the mark of 500 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, a further 242 days to reach the 1000 mark, and a further 177 days to reach the 1500 mark. That shows an increasing rate for US troops. The Pentagon policy of not publicly announcing Iraqi deaths make them harder to estimate, but how many weeks have gone by lately without another few dozen dead in car bombings? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/208 "2005-03-08T19:49:23Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > On the other hand, one thing dictatorships are good at is cranking out a good rally. Which is worse, a good rally cranked out by a dictatorship or a [fake PR photo op](http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2842.htm) cranked out by an invader? > [@Well](#): > > Oh, now I have to prove a negative eh? rjung, for someone with as much experience here at SDMB, you astound me with your lack of debating skills. _Translation:_ “I’ve got nothing to refute your points; stop beating me like a red-headed stepchild…” _Some_ of us bring evidence to the table; others – well, you, anyway – flail back with cheap remarks in hopes that nobody notices your empty quiver… ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/209 "2005-03-08T19:53:58Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Maybe, maybe not. Depends on what you mean by “control” Right now, it seems to me that we make the judgement that the Iraqi Security can deal with it, based on whatever standards we may deem appropriate. Lots of flexibility there. Agreed – fair debate point. But not this March 19, right? At least under the aegis of ANSWER? > [@](#): > > I have a lot of sympathy for the “we broke it, we gotta fix it” view, but if I become convinced that our efforts are futile and counter-productive and offer us nothing more than needless and pointless sacrifice, then I will be in agreement with them. Not yet, but quite close. But again, not two weeks from now, right? All we are saying is give freedom a chance. > [@](#): > > Stop that. I will not. Do you know that one of the very people in this thread said of the World Trade Center victims “I wouldn’t place any flowers on their graves, and I hope you wouldn’t either!” And that only one person who is left of the American center called him on it, and then only obliquely? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/210 "2005-03-08T19:55:19Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > Some of us bring evidence to the table; others – well, you, anyway – flail back with cheap remarks in hopes that nobody notices your empty quiver… My irony meter just exploded and I’m currently wiping coke off my monitor. Thanks for the laugh though. 🙂 -XT ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/211 "2005-03-08T20:05:53Z")
OP checking in; thanks to all who have contributed substantively to this thread. Rolleyes to those who have supplied vitriol without argumentation. **PatriotX** asks some worthwhile questions in post #169 and elsewhere, essentially saying that whatever good may come in the ME, the only meaningful criteria of success or failure is US national interest; but I suggest a seperate thread for that. I would like to refocus on the original question, however: _“Does anyone seriously want to argue that all of this would have happened without Iraq, or (far more plausibly) that these are not the harbingers of real reform?”_ It appears that many are answering in the affirmative to the second part, questioning or minimizing the seriousness of the events of the last week or two, and pointing out that this may well just be a false spring. That seems a reasonable position to me, though it’s certainly the (ahem) \*conservative \* way of looking at things. But I do note that in seven pages, no one has seriously argued that all of this would have happened regardless of US policy. A few people have _asserted_ this, but no one has actually tried to build a plausible, logical argument that something else is causing this wave of reformist sentiment. I find that telling. As a constructive political suggestion, I offer that one could think of acknowleding and signing on to the Bush foreign policy of actively encouraging democracy while still reserving judgement on Iraq, as this [clever and electable pol](http://www.indepundit.com/archive2/2005/03/did_he_just_say.html#) does. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/212 "2005-03-08T20:39:32Z")
> [@furt](#): > > I would like to refocus on the original question, however: _“Does anyone seriously want to argue that all of this would have happened without Iraq, or (far more plausibly) that these are not the harbingers of real reform?”_ I’m sure the Iraq situation contributed, but I’ll re-ask the question that no one has responded to yet: Why do you assume that invading Iraq was the only/best way to catalyze democratic reform in the M.E.? If you don’t, then what is the point of harping on this? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/213 "2005-03-08T20:41:27Z")
While you’re on the “Do you know” kick, **manhattan** , do you know if any other participant on this thread even \*heard \* about the ANSWER rally you refer to, much less planned to attend? Where \*did \* you hear about it - do you have the courage to tell us? You’re still badly and obviously missing the point. The peace movement is not directed by Trotskyites. Few of those who oppose our invasion and occupation have ever heard of this group you claim exists. Not only do you claim it exists, you assert that it’s actually controlling something. it is no different from a statement that, say, “The Ku Klux Klan will hold a pro-war rally on the 12th of Never in Chicago. You don’t plan to attend, I hope, **manhattan**. Please say you don’t support the Klan’s effort to get more good people killed. Even if your idol David Duke is going to speak”. Your attempt at well-poisoning undercuts your own position by its own sheer disgustingness. Clear now, friend? > [@furt](#): > > no one has seriously argued that all of this would have happened regardless of US policy Sure it has, even if you disagree. Similarly, no one has seriously argued that it’s the result of US policy, or can even hypothesize about why it might be so. There has been mention of similar rallies in Bahrain and Iran, if you’ll scroll back. Hell, the anti-Shah revolution was pro-democracy, but the generation of Republicans then in power were strongly opposed to it then, as you’ll recall. What changed? When did the GOP switch from supporting raw _realpolitik_ to dewey-eyed idealism? Just in the last few weeks, when things happened that Bush could somehow be granted circumstantial credit for, isn’t it? Have we all forgotten his desire to make the Iranian spy Chalabi, and later the collaborationist Pachachi, his puppet in Baghdad, only to fail miserably? Are we ignorant of the many years of pressure on Qadafy to comply with the demands of the world community that Bush scorns? What the fuck has he ever done in Lebanon either way? In what way can anyone say Bush’s version of leadership has led to this, if it’s real - what facts, what decisions, what actions can one point to? I’ll stick with the “false spring” position, with no more optimism about this administration’s leadership or vision or interest in fact or basic competence than ever before. The evidence that he’s learned anything is not present. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/214 "2005-03-08T20:50:40Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Why do you assume that invading Iraq was the only/best way to catalyze democratic reform in the M.E.? If you don’t, then what is the point of harping on this? I don’t so assume and never did. However, the question you ask is entirely speculative, and, at this point, somewhat moot. If on the other hand, we can agree that US policy has succeeded in “catalyzing democratic reform,” 1. some people may reconsider their blanket condemnation of the Iraq war and the motives that lay behind it, and more plausibly and more importantly, 2. the discussion can then become how we can/should press forward with that objective. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/215 "2005-03-08T21:07:47Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > If you’re trying to gauge the strength of the insurgency, one wouldn’t count US deaths due to an accidental helocopter crash, for example. One _could_ argue that increased travel necessitated by responding to an active insurgency increases the likelihood of even non-combat related deaths. Rather than get all nitpicky, can we agree that the data showing a recent decrease in combat related deaths is at the bleeding edge of significance, as well as way too high? > [@furt](#): > > pointing out that this may well just be a false spring. That seems a reasonable position to me, though it’s certainly the (ahem) conservative way of looking at things. Well sure, and skepticism over WMD claims that lacked adequate supporting evidence was also the conservative position, not that many conservative took it. I just don’t see the appeal of getting all worked into a lather over something that may turn out to be nothing. If that makes me a conservative, so be it. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/216 "2005-03-08T21:11:07Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Sure it has, even if you disagree. Where? Again, I’m looking for a coherent explanation of what else might explain this confluence of events. > [@](#): > > Similarly, no one has seriously argued that it’s the result of US policy, or can even hypothesize about why it might be so. [The Guardian](http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1428372,00.html), has already been linked in this thread. I do note that much of the rest of the analyses provided, from sources like NYT, WaPo and Der Speigel, seem to regard the causality as pretty much self-evident. Feel free to dismiss them as right-wingers … > [@](#): > > When did the GOP switch from supporting raw _realpolitik_ to dewey-eyed idealism? Just in the last few weeks, when things happened that Bush could somehow be granted circumstantial credit for, isn’t it? Actually, that would be pretty much the moment the infamous neocons garnered GWB’s ear. I think that many oldtime repubs would very much like to return to Kissingerian self-interested hardball. Apparently, so do some Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/217 "2005-03-08T22:22:22Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > One _could_ argue that increased travel necessitated by responding to an active insurgency increases the likelihood of even non-combat related deaths. Rather than get all nitpicky, can we agree that the data showing a recent decrease in combat related deaths is at the bleeding edge of significance, as well as way too high? Yes, I agree. I don’t, however, agree with **Elvis** ’ method of counting deaths. It gives only 3 data points for 2 years-- way to coarse of a measurement. One can always trump up some method of counting that will show you whatever result you want. Monthly data points is the most common method of counting. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/218 "2005-03-08T22:26:37Z")
> [@furt](#): > > I don’t so assume and never did. However, the question you ask is entirely speculative, and, at this point, somewhat moot. Your question ISN’T speculative? Why it’s not moot, see below… > [@](#): > > If on the other hand, we can agree that US policy has succeeded in “catalyzing democratic reform,” > > 1. some people may reconsider their blanket condemnation of the Iraq war and the motives that lay behind it, and more plausibly and more importantly, Not if there were better ways to accomplish the same goals. Hence, my question is not moot. > [@](#): > > 1. the discussion can then become how we can/should press forward with that objective. What more proof do you need than this very thread to see that that isn’t realistic? ---
**Author:** ![pervert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@pervert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pervert)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/219 "2005-03-08T22:28:21Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > I’m sure the Iraq situation contributed, but I’ll re-ask the question that no one has responded to yet: Why do you assume that invading Iraq was the only/best way to catalyze democratic reform in the M.E.? If you don’t, then what is the point of harping on this? I note that no one has assumed anything of the kind. I do not either. However, allow me to propose an argument for just such a point of view. An invasion of Iraq may have been, if not the best, the only way to promote democracy in the middle east because it was, again, if not the best, certainly the only way to remove Saddam from power. One can make a very good argument that Saddam could not have attacked very many other countries given the sanctions and restrictions placed on Iraq over the 90s. However, one can make a much better argument that there was no way to remove the regime of Saddam in the next several decades without an all out invasion. And, as an example of survival dispite defiance of the world community, Saddam may have been a stumbling block to progress in more than Iraq. > [@furt](#): > > If on the other hand, we can agree that US policy has succeeded in “catalyzing democratic reform,” > > 1. some people may reconsider their blanket condemnation of the Iraq war and the motives that lay behind it, and more plausibly and more importantly, > > 2. the discussion can then become how we can/should press forward with that objective. I don’t think there is much chance of such an agreement. Unfortuneately,the recent presidential election demonstrated to me that there is no way to get past the blanket condemnation of the war. 20 years from now, even if Iraq is some sort of democratic paradise, most of those currently condeming the war will still do so. I applaud your efforts in this regard, though. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648/220 "2005-03-08T22:47:15Z")
> [@pervert](#): > > I note that no one has assumed anything of the kind. I do not either. However, allow me to propose an argument for just such a point of view. I think many people are imlicitly doing so, as evidenced by their inability to see why the anti-war folks aren’t rethinking things due to recent events. Of course, no other state has actually become democratic. Any claims of spreading democracy is way, way, WAY too soon. > [@](#): > > An invasion of Iraq may have been, if not the best, the only way to promote democracy in the middle east because it was, again, if not the best, certainly the only way to remove Saddam from power. One can make a very good argument that Saddam could not have attacked very many other countries given the sanctions and restrictions placed on Iraq over the 90s. However, one can make a much better argument that there was no way to remove the regime of Saddam in the next several decades without an all out invasion. Why did it have to be Iraq? Why not push one of the US-friendly states to embrace Democracy? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democratic-domino-theory-revisited/292648.md?page=12)