This is the real reason the KGB-Putin Posters are hung up over Iraq."
In 1991, curiously enough, after the Soviet debacle in Afghanistan, Russians under Michael Gorbachev supported Bush the Elder's western coalition in Gulf War I.
But by 2003 Vladimir Putin opposed Bush the Younger's Gulf War II, and our pro-Russian repeaters here have happily adopted the same stance.
The Old Soviets' relations with Saddam Hussein were... "complicated" and on-again, off-again, largely due to the Soviets' incompatible desires to also maintain good relations with Iran.
During an "on-again" period, the early 1970s, Iraq received aid & training from the Soviet KGB and East Germany's Stasi.
The Iraq-Iran war led Saddam to seek allies among western powers, notably France and the USA.
This cooled relations with Russia enough that by the 1991 Gulf War I, Michael Gorbachev sided against Iraq.
But by 2003, Vlad the Invader had restored Russia's relations with Iraq enough to oppose Gulf War II, at least verbally.
Today, 20+ years after Gulf War II, Iraq remains a poster child of our pro-Russian neo-isolationists, for what and who was wrong about "neo-conservatism".
Even on Free Republic, whose posters strongly supported the War on Terror, including in Iraq, some now claim to have opposed "neo-cons" from the beginning.
One person who's never publicly mocked neo-conservatism or "neo-cons" as such is Donald Trump.
Yes, Trump calls the Iraq war a "big fat mistake", and derides some (i.e., John Bolton) as "war mongers".
Plus, Trump opposes "nation-building".
Most important, says Trump, we should have taken some of Iraq's oil to help pay for the war.
So, what is Iraq's situation today? 
- Iraq's GDP per capita has tripled since 2000.
Today Iraq's GDP/capita is roughly equal to Ukraine's, about half of Russia's. - Iraq's oil production is double what it was in 2000.
- Iraq's Democracy Index scores very high for a Middle Eastern country in: electoral processes, pluralism and in political participation.
Like other Mideast countries, Iraq scores poorly for civil liberties; and like other war-torn countries, zero for functioning government. - Iraq's Corruption Index has slowly improved from one of the world's worst in 2003 to now not quite so bad.
- Iraq's overall crime rate is roughly the same as ours.
In Afghanistan, one of the world's poorest countries, GDP per capita also tripled between 2000 and 2020, but has since lost about 1/2 of what it previously gained.
By comparison, ongoing US support helps Iraqis to have done relatively well.
