Iraq, Was it a Necessary Evil?

Perhaps the war in Iraq was a necessary evil, but then again maybe it was not. Either way, it happened. However, there is one thing that everyone should agree on, whether or not they supported the war: that it did have one positive effect. It rid the world of a very powerful and cruel dictator named Saddam Hussein. Saddam was not only a threat to his own people, but people all across the world. So in retrospect, ousting Saddam was not the problem; the problem is the fact that after capturing Saddam, the U.S. and its allied occupation force did not leave Iraq immediately. Instead, they insisted on assisting the Iraqi people in the forming of a new, Democratic government.

Now to say that the Iraqi people were not glad to be rid of Saddam would be a lie. In fact, they were very happy and grateful. The people loved the parading American and British soldiers after the occupation of Baghdad and other major Iraqi cities ousted Saddam and his regime. They even tolerated the allied soldiers sticking around until Saddam's capture. But what they didn't like was the fact that after Saddam was captured, the occupying armies stayed. This, to many Iraqi people, was unacceptable. They felt, and rightfully so, that their country was theirs to govern as they saw fit. No one would like a foreign army in their neighborhood telling them when they had to be indoors, and acting as police officers. Yes, to the outside world the allied forces being there was just and perhaps even noble, but in the eyes of the Iraqi people, they saw an unjust occupation. And now, the longer the allies stay in Iraq the angrier some of the Iraqi people get.

As good as it would be to have Iraq a Democratic nation, it is impossible to make it one. For centuries warring tribes have fought each other in the area for control, and will continue to do so for ever. One good Saddam did do in his dictatorship, was to limit the tribal to tribal violence. His ways of limiting this however, was a problem. It is foolish to think that Iraq could be a working Democracy because of the before mentioned warring tribes. These groups will never agree on anything. This is mainly because of the years of hatred between them, which was caused mainly by religious differences. Imagine, a leader of one such warring tribe running for president against a leader from another such tribe. A lot of blood would spill at the polls during voting times. Political factions would bomb others, and so forth. It would be worse then than it ever has been. These people are simply incapable of living together in peace, unless forced to.

It is understandable for the U.S. and its allies to want to make countries such as Iraq democracies. Democratic nations seem to be less likely to go to war to seek total domination over someone else. Also, democratic nations can not, in theory, be ruled by one person totally, without question. That is a good thing. Another good reason is that Iraq has a huge oil supply. It would be in the allies favor to have Iraq as an ally, which aiding in its governments formation would make a shoe in because political leaders would all have similar beliefs and work ethics, not to mention they would probably all be friends. Also, the government, such as the United States Government would help in the training of, not only the Iraqi government, but the military and police force as well. (That is seemingly what is trying to take place now, moving at a very slow pace due to terrorist attacks, etc.)

If the U.S. and its allies truly want to keep the peace in Iraq long enough to place a working democratic government there, then policies should be changed. In short, the military forces would have to act as a dictator. Peoples' rights would have to temporarily take a back seat, and real threats would have to be made, and kept, to each warring tribe and terrorist group in Iraq. This being 'politically incorrect' will most likely never happen. So, if the allied forces truly care about the people in Iraq, they should withdraw their troops as soon as possible. However, to do this now would signal a defeat to the terrorist and open a ton of doors that should stay closed. In short, the allies missed the chance to withdraw on a victory note.

For there to truly be less killing in Iraq, one tribe will have to rule and nearly, if not totally eliminate the other. However even this would not totally stop the violence, for soon another tribe would appear to take up arms against the ruling one. The killing in places like Iraq will never be totally stopped. Places like that are altogether different from the United States and many of its allies.