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Horse hockey.

What is needed in Iraq, and the whole Islamic world, is a true revolution. Starting with a conquered Iraq, we need to force-feed them the a diet of old-fashioned, western liberalism; i.e. the same liberalism that founded this nation. They need to have their entire culture transformed into a copy of ours. We need to do to them what Ataturk tried to do with the remains of the Ottoman Empire. Or put another way: We need to turn them into Americans with really good tans.

What will this do? A liberal democracy will promote the rule of law. No where in the Arab world can a citizen be sure that he will be treated as an equal under the law. Nor can he be certain that his property, or his life for that matter, won't be taken from him on a whim. But transform these despotic regimes into democracies, and the rule of law has a chance to take root. If that happens, their economies can be turned into free market systems rather than the kleptocracies they are now.

Again, what will this do? By turning these medieval societies into modern, free market democracies, we alter their culture. The current culture, which allows rulers to steal from their people, and then whip up hatred against some outside enemy as a distraction, will fade away. The people, who will then have a stake in the government, will not stand for that sort of behavior. (Would we if our government tried something like that? Of course not!) The terrorism we see now is a result of this Arabic bait-n-switch government. The Saudis, for example, happily ship their unemployed off to madrassas. Once there, they learn to hate Americans, hate Christians, and hate Jews. They even learn to hate non-Wahabbi Muslims. They learn to hate everyone except the House of Saud!

The same is true in Iraq. The true author of their suffering is, of course, Saddam. But who do they hate? Not Saddam. They learn to hate everyone but him. He's successfully built a regime that channels dissatisfaction away from itself. Those who attempt to identify the true source of trouble for the Iraqi People disappear. But a successor regime can't do that if it's held accountable by the People.

The plan for Iraq ought to be to create a "United States of Iraq". Divide the country up into semi-autonomous cantons or states drawn up along ethnic lines. Two or three states in the Shiite areas, another two or three in Kurdish areas, and so on. And just as we do, set up a bi-cameral legislature where the states are equals in one but represented by population in the other. Set up a co-equal executive and judiciary branches. Put all three branches under a constitution that places limits on government. Force them to adopt a bill of rights that's almost a word-for-word copy of ours. That constitution should also forbid membership in OPEC or any similar cartel. The Iraqi people shouldn't have to see their oil income slashed just because the Wahhabi wingnuts in Riyadh are having a tantrum.

Iraq should be transitioned into a system of limited government; a government that's answerable to the people at regular intervals. A monarchy is the last thing they need. Good grief; they have a monarchy now. Just look where it's gotten them!

And one last time: What will this do? These reforms will make Iraq peaceful and prosperous. They will enjoy freedom and prosperity far beyond what their neighbors will have. And, of course, those neighbors will notice. How long can the House of Saud or the House of Sabah last if their people become jealous of their rich, free Iraqi neighbors? Or how long could the mullahs last in Iran? What Arab tyrant would last if his people were to see other Arabs who are free and wealthy? By defeating Iraq and making it a clone of the US, we could destabilize and overturn every tyrant in the region. We could conquer the entire area and put a halt to its terrorism with a single war limited to Iraq alone. But this force multiplier requires the will to put in place a free-market democracy in Iraq.