March 20th--A year later

A year later and everything the liberals on this board collectively predicted has materialized. There were no terrorist connections. There were no weapons of mass destruction. Iraq was not an imminent threat. The war was over in a matter of weeks, with the real war being fought after the end of major hostilities. The Iraqi's didn't embrace a secular democracy. We were right, and you were wrong. So to the conservatives I resoundingly state na na na boo boo. Also, your mother is a simian man-whore.

After Saddam has gone, I have no additional words any further.

One year later and over 600 American soldiers are dead and thousands wounded. Tens of thousand Iraqi citizens are dead or wounded. The majority of the world refuses to stand with us. There were no WMD and none will be found. Saddam was nothing more than a common thug. He wasn't a threat to the United States. Iraq is GW Bush's war fought for the state of Isreal, oil, and to revenge the planned assassination of Bush's father some 12 years ago.

Too many people confuse the war in Iraq with the war or terrorism. The two have absolutely nothing in common. We should have been concentrating our efforts in Afghanastan and capturing Osama binLaden.

Iraq is a war for resources, nothing else. What else do they have that we want besides their oil? We don't go nation-building for nothing, you know. Do you?

One year of freedom in Iraq should not be lightly dismissed


Today marks the first anniversary of the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. We have made enormous strides in 12 months. Iraq, today, faces many challenges, but it is also much different and much better place than a year ago.

Last month, Oxford Research International conducted a survey of 2,652 people from all 16 governorates in Iraq. When asked to compare life a year ago to their life today, more than 56 per cent of Iraqis stated that their life was better.

When asked how things were going in their lives today, 71 per cent stated things were going quite good to very good. Seventy-one per cent also believed that their lives will be better in a year's time.

The polling data show that Iraqis have complaints as well, but for, the first time in decades, the people of Iraq are free to voice their opinions and celebrate their religions, without ending up in one of the countless mass graves that pepper the countryside.

Where once information was closely guarded and publications risked certain death if they did not follow strict regime instructions, a free press now flourishes. News from the outside world, previously a privilege reserved for the regime's cronies, is readily available via the many satellite dishes that now dot the map of the new Iraq.

Health care spending is 26 times greater now than it was under the former regime. All 240 hospitals and 95 per cent of Iraq's clinics have been reopened, re-supplied and re-equipped. More than 12,000 tons of medicine have been distributed nationwide.

Three million children under five have received vaccinations against deadly childhood diseases and 30 million doses of vaccines have been procured since July.

Areas that were once cut off from the most basic government services, including clean water and waste disposal, are being revitalised. The marshlands that were being systematically destroyed by the Saddam regime are being restored through a combined initiative with the governments of Canada, Italy, Australia and Britain.

Today, Iraq's electricity supply exceeds pre-war levels. The communications systems have been upgraded to allow for international calling and internet access, something that was forbidden before liberation. Bridges and roads have been repaired.

Sewage treatment plants are being rehabilitated and expanded to prevent the dumping of millions of litres of raw waste into the Euphrates and Tigris. Fresh water plants are being repaired and enlarged to serve a greater percentage of the population.

Economically, the country has made great strides to overcome the corruption of Saddam's regime. A new currency has been introduced, fairer taxation systems have been adopted, corporate laws have been re-written, foreign banks have been given permission to operate and micro-lending has been introduced to support small business development.

As George W Bush stated during his visit to Britain last autumn: "The United States and Great Britain share a mission in the world beyond the balance of power or the simple pursuit of interest. We seek the advance of freedom and the peace that freedom brings."

While the list of accomplishments in one year is impressive, challenges remain. Rogue elements, remnants of Saddam's regime and foreign terrorists work to deprive the Iraqi people of their bright future, as shown by the Ashura massacre, the Arbil bombings and the assassinations of Iraqis and foreigners working to improve their nation. And yet, the Iraqi people persevere, because they believe - for the first time in decades - in the future.

They now have hope. On March 8, a historic step on Iraq's path to democracy was taken when the Transitional Administrative Law was signed.

The process used to draft this document was just as important as the final result. For the first time in modern history, Kurd sat down with Arab, Shia with Sunni and Christian, men with women, as they worked together to design the blueprint for Iraq.

The Transitional Administrative Law established the principles on which the government and subsequent constitution will be based, including an independent judiciary and guarantee of basic rights.

It incorporates a federalist approach to national governance, yet preserves local governments' rights and responsibilities. The Transitional Administrative Law also sets out the elections for the National Assembly, and the creation and ratification of a national constitution.

Last fall, President Bush and Tony Blair stated: "For the first time in decades, the Iraqi people are enjoying the taste of freedom … great challenges remain in Iraq.

But the progress we have made this year has been enormous. Our resolve to complete the task we set ourselves remains undiminished. Our partnership with the Iraqi people is for the long-term."

The cut and thrust of the current debates about WMD and the difficulties encountered over the past year will continue; however, in the heat of those debates, the accomplishments made over the past year should not be dismissed.

The 25 million people of Iraq face a brighter future now that Saddam Hussein is no longer in power - one they will make their own, with the support of their friends and partners in Britain, the United States and around the world.

• The author is US Ambassador to the Court of St James