"These "root causes" lay in the political slum that the United States has been running in the region, and in the rotten nexus of client-states from Riyadh to Islamabad. Such causes cannot be publicly admitted, nor can they be addressed all at once. But a slum-clearance program is beginning to form in the political mind. "This is really the only arguement against interfering in Iraq. Given the State Departments miserable handling of the US's "client" states to date, what has changed to make it reasonable to assume that they will do better in the future?
I have no doubt that the US military can get rid of Saddam. I am not so confident that what follows will be any better.
We seem to have a penchant for helping people over there who a few years down the road turn on us, and become our biggest headaches. Compare this to what is happening in Iran where we have been conspiciously absent for the last 20 years?
Yes. It is quite the paradox isn't it? Where America has not had her influence felt in the Middle East for years (like Iran) they seem to love us. But where we do prop up corrupt ruling regimes they hate us. We are a beacon- our example alone is enough to topple these regimes without our interference. But if we go there we become the focul point of hate for every nutjob ideology in the region. Iran has had no contact with America or interference with us for 20 years. And yet the Iranians love us. Let the Middle East alone and they will all see what the Iranians see. In short- let them grow up by themselves. Otherwise we will give them decades more of excuses and bring ourselves more 9/11's.