Progress in Iraq?

Roger Aronoff looks at signs of progress in Iraq, and the Middle East in general.

Saddam Hussein has been put on trial (as opposed to, for example, summarily executed or disappearing altogether), two elections in Iraq, and general democratization in the region.

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There's still a long way to go, but the benchmarks are everywhere. Democratic revolutions have occurred in Ukraine, Georgia and Lebanon. Elections have been held in Egypt, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq. Pressure is mounting on countries like Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran to begin their own democratic transformations. And these are not happening in a vacuum. They are happening because the U.S. and its allies are staying the course in Iraq.

David Gelernter, the Yale professor who often writes for the Weekly Standard, wrote a column for the Los Angeles Times about Condoleezza Rice's appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He points out that Rice got it right when she explained that while we went to war because of the potential threat of weapons of mass destruction and international terrorism, the plan now is "for a freed Iraq to inspire and stabilize the entire Middle East and to promote democracy everywhere." Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) had charged this amounted to a "bait-and-switch" by the administration.

Rice explained that that is how the world works. She gave the example of World War II, and that we didn't go to war to build a democratic Germany. Boxer didn't buy the analogy, and was apparently offended. Gelernter expanded on Rice's analogy: "Democracies rarely declare war to improve the world…They fight to protect themselves, sometimes to fulfill treaty obligations. But once a war is underway, free peoples tend to think things over deeply. Casualties concentrate the mind. We refuse to let our soldiers die for too little. America at war has lifted its sights again and again from danger, self-interest and self-defense to a larger, nobler goal. Same story, war after war, Iraq fits perfectly."

In spite of the continuous negativity coming out of the media on the war and the constant questions about the administration's ability to execute, sustain and win it, there is reason for optimism and gratitude. The sacrifices of our soldiers are for a noble cause that is transforming the Middle East.

Our side is winning. Of course, the media don't like to think of themselves as being on "our side." And that is part of the problem our troops face day after day.