Those were not "sham" elections based on independent observers, including the UN. Over 8 million Iraqis participated under the threat of life and death violence. I suggest you read the Text of Joint Resolution On Iraq Passed By The United States Congress on October 10 and 11, 2002 to see why we invaded Iraq. It was much more than WMD.
What will eventually come from Iraq (if it stays in one piece) is a theocracy that will match some of the more ardent theocracies in the region
Pure conjecture on your part and ill-informed at that. There is only one "ardent" theocracy in the region and that is Iran.
Whereas the efforts of international weapons inspectors, United States intelligence agencies, and Iraqi defectors led to the discovery that Iraq had large stockpiles of chemical weapons and a large scale biological weapons program, and that Iraq had an advanced nuclear weapons development program that was much closer to producing a nuclear weapon than intelligence reporting had previously indicated;And for close to two years, Republicans harped on WMDs with very few words on democracy. That was the reason. How many would have been behind 'regime change' in Iraq simply for 'freeing' the Iraqi people? There was a supposed threat, which didn't exist.Whereas Iraq, in direct and flagrant violation of the cease-fire, attempted to thwart the efforts of weapons inspectors to identify and destroy Iraq's weapons of mass destruction stockpiles and development capabilities, which finally resulted in the withdrawal of inspectors from Iraq on October 31, 1998;
Whereas in 1998 Congress concluded that Iraq's continuing weapons of mass destruction programs threatened vital United States interests and international peace and security, declared Iraq to be in 'material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations' and urged the President 'to take appropriate action, in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws of the United States, to bring Iraq into compliance with its international obligations' (Public Law 105-235);
Pure conjecture on your part and ill-informed at that
Ah, yes. And you would know how? You yourself stated you had never been to Iraq. It's not ill-informed, it's based on historical data of past regimes within the region, unlike Victor David Hansen's delusional rantings. Buckley is right again, as he usually is. Within a generation, Iraq may not be a theocracy. But I can guarantee you it will no longer be a democracy, no matter how many Republicans close their eyes and wish it to be.