Was it worth it?

Today's Washington Post has a good article about Iraqis' ambiguity about whether the war to topple Saddam Hussein was worth the chaos and sectarian violence that plagues the country today.

Laith Muhammad, 32, a student in Fallujah, 35 miles west of Baghdad, listed the risks Iraqis face these days. "We either die by the Americans, the insurgents in the name of jihad, the security companies, which kill you and leave you laying in the street, the Iraqi police or . . . the death squads," he said. Such squads are widely believed to be operating from within the country's Interior Ministry. Muhammad cited private militias as yet another threat.

"Three years after the American invasion of Iraq, I have only one wish," he said. "I do not want democracy, food, electricity and water. I just do not want to die."

Other Iraqis, however, are less quick to blame the United States.

Sardar Muhsin Maheed, 25, a student at Mosul University, said too many people blamed the occupation for all of Iraq's ills. He traced most problems to Hussein, suggesting that issues such as the poor economy are legacies of the ousted president.

"The U.S. has liberated us from Saddam and his oppression," he said. "We are not ready to form a democratic state, and that is because of the burden left by Saddam's regime." [emphasis added]

The coalition presence in Iraq doesn't seem strong enough to bring security to the country, and the political will to strengthen that presence just isn't there anymore.

Gerard Baker, meanwhile, ponders what may have developed had Saddam Hussein not been removed from power. It's pure speculation (albeit learned speculation), of course, but things likely wouldn't have been pretty.

Posted by damian at March 21, 2006 07:57 AM | TrackBack