I cannot say it better.

It’s Up to Iraqis Now. Good Luck.

Tom Friedman is trying to salve his conscience for advocating this deadly bloodbath. An intelligent and effective President would have found a route to spreading democracy through the world through inspiration and incentives rather than death and destruction and wasted treasure. Cheney declared war on Iraq in August of 2002, and Friedman and Bush and far too many others followed along after him and shouted down all who warned of what was to come. If Republicans didn't like Saddam Hussein, they should not have been supporting him through the Reagan years AFTER he massacred people, while he was consolidating his power, right up until the moment that he marched into Kuwait. Note to those who say Iraqis dictatorship was intractable: maybe one way of spreading Democracy is not putting your finger on the scale to help dictators. Yes it is wonderful that the brave Iraqi people finally have something positive to look forward to after the lives of so many of their family members, friends and neighbors were destroyed, but, sorry, TF, you cannot use this to praise yourself for the deadly policy that you supported.