Benefits of war in Iraq

I agree with the author of this article The European Courier | Benefits of War in Iraq who points out many genuine benefits of the war in Iraq

I think it is a good thing that US troops stay in Iraq and continue to fight.

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Some are under the illusion that the nascent democracies in the Middle East will be copies of Western democracies. This will not happen. When democracy finally comes to the Middle East it will be as dissimilar to the Western democracy as Indonesian Islam is to Arab Islam. Others fear that the biggest winners in democratic elections will be Islamists. They fear that the Islamists will gain power and subsequently eliminate all liberties inconsistent with their understanding of religion. They may then use the power of the countries they control against the West itself. This might happen in the majority of the countries of the region, if democracy were to be brought in suddenly or imposed by the West. A nation needs to understand and learn how to use democracy to its benefit. This requires years of practice and the creation of democratic traditions. What should concern politicians and Western analysts is the manner in which democracy is implemented in the Middle East, and prepare for the results of the process. So far we have three examples of broad political and cultural changes in the region. Sixty years ago in Lebanon, the French introduced democratic political parties, but they lost their effectiveness over quarter a century ago, primarily due to changes in religious and ethnic makeup of society. The Syrian intervention was of secondary importance in this matter. In Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Atat?rk) attempted to westernize the whole of Turkish society and shift its orientation to the West as early as the 1930s. This attempt may still ultimately succeed. In Iran in the 1970s, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi seemed to be following in Atat?rk?s steps, but failed. The reasons for this failure can be seen in the contrast between these two reformers. Atat?rk, the hero of the Turkish War of Independence, was above suspicion in Turkish society. The Shah on the other hand, was seen as a usurper and a servant of foreign interests. Some of his actions were interpreted as an insult to Islam. Both examples show that the only way to implement democracy in the Middle East is, paradoxically, to impose it upon societies from above. This is presently being done by the Emir of Bahrain. But he is doing so purely for his own ambitions and has only been partially successful.

CONCLUSIONS:

The first, perhaps minor, conclusion we may draw from the intervention in Iraq, is that to accomplish one?s tasks one needs to use a language one?s opponents can understand. Unfortunately some people only understand the language of force. Secondly, once again we see that peace comes with a price, and sometimes it is worth paying. ?Peace at any price? contradicts itself. For some, freedom is priceless and they are willing to prove it by their own sacrifices. In the end the actions of the American leadership prove that America is determined to continue the course of its foreign policy.

There are no benefits in the war with Iraq.:eek:

Beware of Neo-Cons trying to spread democracy.:rocketwhore:

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The end does not justify the means. You can't achieve peace through war, that is lesson that we learned the hard way.
You might gain an imediate result, but they will not hold for long. You must change the ideology of an entire civilization, that is not done solely by outside forces, patience is the key word here. Our influence must be minimal so violence and hatred are not stimulated.

These soldiers have family and friend they wish to return to someday, while their enemies wish to die in order to ingress into heaven. You can't threaten with death someone who wishes to die

I agree to a certain extent. We did not create this war, they did... They killed thousands of innocent on another soil: US. Is that an act of provocation to go to war or what?

I agree to the fact that soldiers need to go back home before those b....s kill more soldiers. But at the same time it is imperative to leave the country with a solid form of governamental structure that will not crumble easy..

UN organization should start to work on this and take some decisions to stabilize Iraq so US soldiers can go back home...

THe fact that Iran is organozing a meeting on Iraq situation it is just what we do no need them to do but UN responsability....

Depends on what you call a benefit. Ask an iraqi if he like's drinking clean water, of having electricity for fifteen hours aday instead of two. Having actual working plumbing instead of wading through it in the street.

Good thing not too many people thought that when we were fighting Japan and Germany.

I don't understand what you're saying in the first part of your statement.

Iraq was a functioning, normal nation in most places BEFORE we invaded it,
and bombed it to bits. They have lost a lot because of our actions.

The World has lost a lot because of our actions. Iraq is situated in a historically
important region. Maybe a country 200+ years old can't appreciate what
has been going on there for thousands of years, but some of the first
building ever erected by civilizations were there. Some of the first museums,
filled with treasures, works of art and historical and religious relics were
there. The northern marshes are what you probably refer to as "The Garden
of Eden" in the bible. When the europeans were still crawling around caves
the Persians and Arabs and Ottomans and Turks had advanced civilizations.
Things our civilization and culture are built on top of originated there, and
bits of it had been preserved, and we made a situation where that's been
wrecked in a lot of instances, and that's a crime that history will bite us in
the ass for, eventually. Much of that can't be rebuilt.

If your talking about developments in the past two years, I'm not even
sure you still get it right. Things aren't "business as usual" at the moment.

You should watch a documentary called "Control Room," about Al Jazeera
television. Dismiss it if you like, but watch it for a glimpse into what it was
like to be an Iraqi before, during, and after the invasion.

Iraq was a functioning, normal nation in most places BEFORE we invaded it,
and bombed it to bits.

They have lost a lot because of our actions.

The World has lost a lot because of our actions. Iraq is situated in a historically
important region. Maybe a country 200+ years old can't appreciate what
has been going on there for thousands of years, but some of the first
building ever erected by civilizations were there.

Some of the first museums,
filled with treasures, works of art and historical and religious relics were
there. The northern marshes are what you probably refer to as "The Garden
of Eden" in the bible. When the europeans were still crawling around caves
the Persians and Arabs and Ottomans and Turks had advanced civilizations.

Things our civilization and culture are built on top of originated there, and
bits of it had been preserved, and we made a situation where that's been
wrecked in a lot of instances, and that's a crime that history will bite us in
the ass for, eventually. Much of that can't be rebuilt.

If your talking about developments in the past two years, I'm not even
sure you still get it right. Things aren't "business as usual" at the moment.

You should watch a documentary called "Control Room," about Al Jazeera
television. Dismiss it if you like, but watch it for a glimpse into what it was
like to be an Iraqi before, during, and after the invasion.

"Iraq was a functioning, normal nation in most places BEFORE we invaded it,
and bombed it to bits. They have lost a lot because of our actions."

Functioning , yes . Normal , no .
Iraq was being plundered by a dictator who raped his country's assets ,

"Iraq was a functioning, normal nation in most places BEFORE we invaded it,
and bombed it to bits. They have lost a lot because of our actions."

Functioning , yes . Normal , no .
Iraq was being plundered by a dictator who raped his country's assets , demeaned its history and culture , killed and degraded its people , and never wanted to arrive into the current century with the rest of the world .
I fail to see how we are responsible for the whole situation . Many members of the UN were and are in favor of invading Iraq in order to change the regime so that Iraq could become a normal nation in the Middle East .
The growth of civilization has always been built on top of previous ones , and Sadaam and his type just refused to allow growth which would bring Iraq's people out of the 9th and 10th century .
How is it that many Muslims and Muslim nations have progressed , yet it is our fault that some have not ? It is radical Islamic fundamentalism that retards growth . When fundamentalism overshadows growth , civilizations suffer .
Fundamentalism caused much of the situation that led to the abandoning of England and Europe by our American forefathers . They escaped ( and sometimes were run out of ) repressive regimes to come here and start a new republic which has grown to be recognized as a world leader in many ways in just over 200 years . Doesn't this strike you as a good thing ? Should we not foster the same efforts in others ?