I deserted Saddam's army.

I thought the shiites would be the first ones welcoming us with open arms and not with sheer anger!

At a guess, it's "thanks, we'll take it from here. Goodbye."

I can live with that.

What has to be instituted in Iraq is a western-style form of government. That means is must be a pluralistic form of government like western countries that respects the rights of all Iraqis. It does not mean that fundamentlalists cannot be rulers of Iraq, it simply means that the rights of all Iraqi citizens not to be oppressed by other Iraqis must be emphasized. If radicals take over and organize an anti-American terrorist government like Iran, our choice will be to depose it by force if necessary. Hopefully we can forestall that eventuality.

I'm certainly not predicting an easy, smooth road to democracy in Iraq. I am saying though that we must attempt to impose it. I certainly won't be shocked at rough times ahead. But remember, Japan never knew democracy before we imposed it. According to experts, if they are experts, Iraq is the one Arab-Muslim country where democracy has a chance. We'll see. But in any event, we cannot have any more Irans. These Iraqi mullahs may find that out the hard way.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.