Many people have been posting that the Bush Administration is either an Evil Empire Builder, or a Reluctant Savior of Democracy.
When all of the dust settles, what will it have taken, to prove either side?
Well fed, educated and free Iraqi citizens to prove the dove side?
A miserable wreck like Afghanistan to prove the Hawk’s?
Ultimately what I would like to see are things that can’t be argued with, so that in a while we will be able to go back and say “see, you are right/wrong” To forestall any future backpedalling on either side.
My guess is that it will be years before we will be full able, in highsight, to argue whether the Iraqi overthrow was a good thing or not, and whether Bush will be hailed as a savior or demon.
We haven’t found any WMD’s, not that they aren’t there, so one argument for doing what we did may prove problematic. But the bottom line, IMHO, is that Iraq was a “rogue” state that terrorized it’s own people, not to mention their neighbors. If we did nothing and hundreds more Iraqi’s died in prisons for just opposing their dictator what would that say about us?