Did anyone think that we were just going to go in, drop a few bombs, win a quick victory and then leave?
Yes, the Arab leaders will holler about American imperialism but in secret they will be happy. It's not just Saddam that they are worried about. The Arab leaders are terrified by their own festering populations.
And no, America will not bring democracy to the middle east. America will bring stability to the fragile regimes of the middle east. The American occupation of Iraq will not be quick, easy or cheap. But it will teach the crazy rabid factions in the Arab world a lesson that they've been dying to learn: Don't mess with the US or we'll come over and hold you down until you're ready to say Uncle.
Well I take your point. But I don't think this is a very smart bit of public diplomacy. This line essentially says that Bin Laden is right about our goals. To recruit his minions all he has to do is quote your words and Bush's plans. The fragile regimes of the Middle East, as you rightly call them, are corrupt and autocratic and are mostly hated by their own people. They would gladly see them overthrown, but not by the US, not at the cost of military rule by the US for a number of years.