And there are still significant numbers of Russians who long for the days of Stalinist Russia. BFD.

There are millions of North Koreans, Congolese, and Sudanese who pray that the Americans will come in and liberate them from their oppressors. The orphans in those countries aren't allowed to build protest statues.
rank sales | 01.30.09 - 2:42 pm | #

Rank,
So these ingrates should be happy we came in to their relatively stable, prosperous country (for the region anyway), and killed hundreds of thousands of their relatives and neighbors, destroyed their infrastructure and economy, so they can be "free". If they are free, in a country where you are likely to be shot on any street corner, by Jihadists, government troops, police, militia, US troops, or American and European mercenaries, for any reason or no reason at all.

I'd be grateful too. You bet.
Danby | 01.30.09 - 10:35 pm | #

According to my understanding- prior to the invasion Iraq had around 22 million people- there are now 2 million Iraqis displaced outside the country and 2 million displaced from their homes inside of Iraq- that is nearly 1 in 5 Iraqis impacted in this seriously traumatic fashion. The Surge apparently worked by putting up huge barriers all over the place dividing neighborhoods, establishing check points to control basic movement, and some special ops assassination teams root out any and all threats to the peace. All of this could certainly work to create some exhaustion and "peace" for a while - but to say the whole thing was worth it?? Worth what? You cannot do an evil that good comes from it- this type of preventative war is in no way truly defensive- Hussein was in part our own creation- when I was in basic training we were given glowing reports on the progress of 'friend Saddam Hussein' as he was fighting and killing Iranians (with both sides gathering in American weapons). But when Saddam bucked the status quo and went after Britain's Persian Gulf creation- he became a "Hitler" all of a sudden- but after the Gulf War he was a toothless lion- and after years of sanctions which the Vatican condemned, and which American authorities confirmed may have killed upwards to 500,000 Iraqi children because of a lack of water purification chemicals and other necessities for urban life- Hussein was hardly a power to be reckoned with- and after the neo-con embellished intelligence turned out false- and no WMD's around to even remotely threaten the U.S., and Hussein ends up in a spider's hole hiding for life- it was very apparent that he was no existential threat to us - diplomacy was never really embraced, which may have offered slow improvements for the people of Iraq without the need for violent foreign army invasions and subsequent civil uprisings turning religious and other factions one against the other. Violence begets more violence- war is always a defeat for humanity. War is something for a last resort, to stop an active genocide- it is to be purely defensive, not a tool for imperial advantage or a way to stimulate commerce or patriotism.
Tim Shipe | Homepage | 01.31.09 - 12:31 am | #

Danby, they are free, no quote marks needed. I assume you're not an American if you don't understand how important that is.

Tim, we had a war for independence over 200 years ago. Yes, I guess there are still neighbourhoods in New Orleans you can't walk through after dark. And the inequality! Women are bumping their heads up against the glass ceiling.

That surge at Valley Forge continues to cause evil ripples to this day.
will o'd | 02.01.09 - 11:09 pm | #

From the article: "his angry gesture touched a defiant nerve throughout the Arab and Muslim world."

Apparently that reaction isn't limited to the Arab and Muslim world, or in this case, Saddam's home town. Seems to also resonate with CNN ... and Mark.
Mike | 02.02.09 - 10:09 am | #

The Iraq War was a gigantic mistake.
Colm | 02.02.09 - 7:25 pm | #