I challenge anybody to read the following two stories and then remark that we have done the wrong thing in Iraq.
First, there is this story from the NY Times (of all papers!) about how so many Iraqis are pursuing war crimes claims againt the former regime. What is most remarkable is how many Iraqis seem to have been convinced, by political and religious leaders, not to pursue vigilante justice, but rather to pursue claims through the legal system.
After reading the article, try telling SWLiP that the Bush administration should have sided with the Axis of Weasels who wanted to keep Saddam in power. Just try. I dare you.
Then there is this amazing story from Steven Vincent, writing for NRO, in which he describes his unscientific poll of Baghdad taxi drivers. You have to read the whole thing, but his overwhelming impression is that America's overthrow of Saddam has been received positively. And then there's this:
A big, burly, genial fellow, he picked me up on al-Rasheed Street, his Super Saloon festooned with strips of artificial flowers and the familiar 1970's rock-star-like images of the Shia icons Hussein and Ali. When I asked for his opinion on the occupation, he bellowed, "U.S. good! U.S. fantastic!" After I revealed that I was American, he cried, "God bless President Bush!"[...]
His comments began tumbling out one after another. First he criticized "Arab media — Al-Jazeera and Arabia TV. They only say bad things about U.S., only talk about bombs and killing Americans. Never about how things are growing in Iraq, getting better." Then he turned to the entire Arab world. "They fear Iraq will become a democracy, then every country will want to become democratic and the rulers will be in trouble-they only want people with one thought, one mind." As for Iraq's future, he had great optimism, provided that the new constitution included religious freedom for everyone — "Muslims, Christians, Jews, because Mohammad said 'Let there be no forcing of religion.' Mohammad said we are all brothers and to kill a man is to kill your brother."
By the time I reached my hotel, I had a Koran-sized lump in my throat. I peeled off a wad of dinars, but the cabbie refused to take the money. After I implored him to accept payment, he finally took the bills, slipped them in his shirt pocket, then took them out and handed them back to me. "You give me the money, now I give it back to you — a gift to my friend from America." Then, turning up the volume on the imam's sermon, he gave me a big missing-toothed smile and drove off in a cloud of exhaust. Watching him disappear into traffic, I had tears in my eyes, and they weren't from the Baghdad smog.
These are the reasons why we fight: To give those who were victims of the Hussein regime hope for justice, and to give all Iraqis -- indeed, all people throughout the Middle East -- the same hope that this enthusiastic cab driver carries in his heart.
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