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Originally posted by PhiPsiRuss
Iraq stabilized that region? Only with regard to preventing moderates, and democrats from gaining power. Iraq was not just authoritarian. They were totalitarian, and one of the only genocidal regimes on Earth.
The grave mistake would have been to allow Iraq to remain in power. Prior to 9-11, Iraq was 4th or 5th in the world in the financing of radical Palestinian groups. After 9-11, they became #1. They attempted to destabilize the region, so that the US would be preoccupied with other conflicts, particularly in Israel.
Iraq was trying to get a war started. Nice people.
The real reason why we invaded Iraq has nothing to do with oil or WMD. The real reason was geopolitical. By removing the one nation that was proactively trying to derail the War on Terror (Jihadists,) and by installing a democratic government, the region will change.
It is bold, but there is precedence. Comparisons to Somalia are invalid. Iraq has great national wealth, and an educated population.
They do have hope, after a three decade long nightmare under the Baathists has finally ended.
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Iraq was definitely not a stable country by any stretch of the imagination. Disregarding any threat it posed to its neighbors, Iraq from within was in total chaos. Before Saddam came to power Iraq was one of the wealthier and better educated nations in the region. Infrastructure was more advanced than any other nation in the region. Very rich cultural history as well. Once Saddam came to power things declined. Sadly, the U.S. knew of Saddam's atrocities and neglected to address them. Even worse, the sanctions imposed after the first Gulf War did nothing but harm the very people we should have been helping. Obviously Saddam wasn't harmed by them at all.
Were the reasons for the war justified? Some say no. We've so far failed to find any WMD. Thus far we've failed to find a solid link between al-Qaeda and Iraq. But, we've managed to take down a genocidal maniac, which is definitely a good first step.
It is quite unlikely that there was a link between al-Qaeda and Saddam to begin with. They stood for totally different ideologies (secular vs. religious state) and most say they despised each other.
Russ, do you have a link to any articles discussing Iraq's increase of funding for Palestinian terror groups?