US leaves behind murky picture in Iraq focus 08/27/2010

US leaves behind murky picture in Iraq

focus 08/27/2010 WASHINGTON — US combat troops pulling out of Iraq can claim the ouster of a brutal dictator as a clear success but otherwise leave behind unresolved questions about democracy, terror and neighboring Iran’s power. With Washington about to declare an official end to the combat mission in Iraq more than seven years after the invasion, analysts say it is hard to draw clear conclusions. “In many ways, the most important point to make about this (invasion aftermath) is it’s more complicated than it often looks,” Stephen Biddle, an analyst with the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, told AFP. The clearest result of the war was obviously the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein, but most other consequences are loaded with ambiguity, he said. Take the controversial issue of weapons of mass destruction, for example. A standard view is the war was carried out on a false premise as President George W. Bush invaded Iraq to learn that Saddam no longer had the nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs he was suspected of possessing. Although Biddle said he thinks the invasion was not worth the terrible costs, he urged people to consider what the Gulf might have looked like had the invasion not occurred.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100827com3.html

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