Not too long ago, gung-ho supporters of the Iraq War wouold shut up skeptics by asking, "Would the Iraqi people be better off if Saddam were still in power?"
Well, the answer to that is YES! Sad but true. The current sectarian strife is costing more lives than Saddam's purges. And here are some more ways in which they were better off under Saddam:
1) He kept order. The Iraqi people need an iron fist or they'll get out of hand, and Saddam was that fist.
2) As a secular ruler, he kept religious extremism from warping public policy.
3) Christians were protected agaisnt Islamic oppression.
4) Women had more rights.
If we really care about the Iraqi people and are not about saving face, maybe we should release Saddam and put him back in charge.
2006-12-06 03:09:21 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
The Iraqi people are in hell! The only progress made in Iraq is the heavily fortified Green Zone. No electricity, no water, no peace. Death everywhere.
And it is too late to release Saddam. They will kill him with laughter. He should have been kept in power. The Iraq war will stand out as the greatest political blunder of the 21st Century.
2006-12-06 03:25:30 · answer #1 · answered by BabyFace 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't think it ever occurred to the people in charge that people might not want democracy. As Americans, this is a flaw in our reasoning. We actually believe that countries would be better off if it were a democracy.
I believe that democracy is the best political alternative available. This is my belief, as a westerner, as an American. Having lived in Saudi Arabia for five years, I can state that this belief is not shared nor understood by many Middle Easterners.
Democracy would change the face of the Middle East. Women, barely have any rights. Lower cast Muslims have even fewer. If they were allowed to vote, the powers that be "status-quo" would be toppled and many things would change.
Iraq is a classic example. Shiites / Sunnis / Kurds ... hmmm, wonder why Saddam had such a strong arm in that country.
Saddam, being Iraqi, new how to "run" his country. Although, it was corruption, genocide, and mass murdering --- it kept the people at bay. Can he return? Maybe, if he manages to escape his death penalty. Should he return? No, enough deaths have been attributed to this war for the things to go back the way they were (Iraqi, US, and coalition forces deaths should not be lost in vain).
2006-12-06 11:37:27 · answer #2 · answered by mininovax 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, let's look at this from a different perspective for a moment. Do you know what's causing the violence right now? It's mostly fueled by help from Iran. It's not as simple as having a ruler with an iron fist. Iraqis are human beings. They're not animals. Humans love freedom. When this violence is brought under control, they will be much happier than when Saddam was ruling. Give them a decade or two of freedom and you'll see that they're just as human and freedom-loving as you are. Chew on that for awhile.
2006-12-06 11:17:20 · answer #3 · answered by sacolunga 5 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Why even compare anything to Saddam. The US shouldn't be comparing ourselves to Saddam. I would hope we have some better standards to hold ourselves up to. That ship has sailed and we have made the choice to remove him. That has already been done. If we compare Iraq not to Saddam, but to what we wanted Iraq to become, it looks like a total failure.
2006-12-06 11:23:59 · answer #4 · answered by Take it from Toby 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not left, but left oriented, and even I could tell you that Saddam isn't what they liked or what they needed. With Saddam, some were under attack; now everybody is. One isn't better, just the other is worse.
2006-12-06 11:54:13 · answer #5 · answered by Huey Freeman 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, they are better off now. Now that they have a fighting chance to run the government the way they want they are doing exactly that, fighting to run the government.
Couldn't see the forest for the trees could ya?
Now that they have a taste of it they would ignore Saddam if placed back into power. You really can't be that dense can you?
2006-12-06 11:17:11 · answer #6 · answered by El Pistolero Negra 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Imagine if another country with a military bigger and stronger and more sophisticated than ours decided to blow up or tear down every historic monument in Washington DC and then their troops went into the national archives and stole the original US constitution, and the declaration of independance, and several other historic artifacts out of our museums and sold it all on ebay. And then add to that the possibility of every street in your neighborhood being a war zone or controlled by the foreign military. And then all of a sudden they say, "Oops! It didn't work out as planned- Lets put Dubya back in power" there is no way that we will ever regain our quality of life.
2006-12-06 11:16:24 · answer #7 · answered by Joe K 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Before the invasion,Iraqi people knew who to be careful of.
Now they can't even go to the store without wondering if they will get home alive.
2006-12-06 11:16:37 · answer #8 · answered by rosbif 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
YES
As a free democratic society everything is working out as planned.
Go big Red Go
2006-12-06 11:15:41 · answer #9 · answered by 43 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Oh yeah, if you overlook the massive violence and mayhem that has ruined Iraq.
2006-12-06 11:21:27 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋