"Scout" wrote
The chapter on Iraq is still being written.

True, but indications are we are in deep trouble.

Religious fundamentalism is the enemy of all mankind. Europeans were afraid
to explore west because the church told them they would sail off the edge of
the world - never mind that ancient Egyptians and Greeks had not only
determined that Earth was round but estimated its diameter. Israel almost
died abirthing when Jewish fundamentalists demanded that the rest stop
defending themselves for Sabbath (Fortunately they didn't listen).
Scientists know that the Earth will become another Easter Island if we do
not limit population but only the "Godless Communists" in China are doing
so. Here in the US faith is triumphing over logic and common sense and we
are poised to again outlaw birth control and abortion.

We encouraged Muslim fundamentalism because it was primarily directed at
'Godless Communism' and the USSR in Afghanistan. Now that buzzard has come
home to roost.

Saddam was ruthless dictator but a secular Muslim. As such, he opposed the
Islamic fundamentalists in Iran and Afghanistan. When religious
fundamentalists among Iraq's Shiite sect turned on him, at the behest of
like extremists in Iran, he murdered them, filling mass graves - then went
to war with fundamentalist Iran. And when bin Laden and his al Qaeda
fighters tapped Saddam for money and training camps he not only refused but
began systematically killing anyone associated with them caught in Iraq
(Zuqari survived hidden by Saddams' own son). Iraq had long claimed that
Kuwait was Iraqi property and invaded it, largely to recoup the costs of war
with extremist Iran. This unsettled other Arab nations, who thought they
might b next. So, the UN, led by the USA put a stop to this adventure - and
ordered Saddam to get rid of any WMDs that he had previously had and used.
Up til then, he had as legit a right to them as, say, Israel.

The "invasion" of the "Holy Peninsula" and the killing of Muslims by the
"army of infidels" that freed Kuwait infuriated Muslim fundamentalists. Bin
Ladin himself says that is why his army of religious nutcases attacked the
USA and other countries, including the 9-11 attacks.

For reasons nobody understands, George Bush Jr attacked Iraq to depose
Saddam. Saddam no longer had any WMDs and, except for paying widows
pensions to Palestinians attacking Israel, took no part in terrorism. He and
bin Ladin were bitter enemies over his refusal to help al Qaeda. And he was
eager to sell all the oil he could pump. So why - to establish a western
democracy in the region??

That might have worked if we'd sent enough troops to lock down all the ammo
dumps, banks, museums and other places that got looted, and to capture the
al Qaeda terrorists fleeing the Afghan tribesmen via Iran, but we did not.
So with Saddam gone they found a nice home and are killing two or three
Americans every day.

Progress? Predictably, Shiite fundamentalists elected a big plurality in
the new assembly and in turn devised a new constitution that will give Iraq
a democracy, but not a western democracy. Oh no, it's one just like Iran's,
where the people elect a powerless parliament and the country is run by -
guess what - religious fundamentalists friendly to al Qaeda and other fundy
terrorists!! And next month they will elect their parliament and it will
appoint the fundamentallist mullahs who will rule thereafter.

But, as Scout says, that chapter has yet to be written. But I'd bet on the
fundies ......