Fruits of War

BushCheney has long used "who can argue that the world isn't better off with Saddam Hussein removed from power" as the unassailable justification for his Iraq war. Three and a half years later that premise is looking ever more assailable.

Let's see, the war has destabilized the region, creating an opening for radical organizations such as al-Qaeda to establish operations, allowing Iran to indulge its great power ambitions by supporting a Shi'ite majority government and spawning an new generation of Islamic terrorists. Iraqis, who once looked forward to a post-Saddam future live in a primitive, violent state. Saddam Hussein's brutality and dictatorship were in fact horrible. The replacement regime is no better with no prospect for improvement in any reasonable time fram.

The latest evidence for this conclusion comes from the recent epidemiological study estimating that the Iraq war has killed more than 600,000 Iraqis since the invasion. That number is twice the number of deaths attributed to Saddam Hussein's entire tenure. In short, BushCheney's decision to invade Iraq has left the world a more dangerous place.

Administration supporters will immediately question this study, arguing its limitations and methodology. I direct anyone wondering about the study to Informed Comment where Juan Cole has a thoughtful post about the study's metholdology and plausibility.

Looking at the numbers, it's hard not to see the Iraq war as a tragedy equal to its strategic blunder.