Posted 4/11/2003 08:30:00 AM by Ocean Guy
Choices

From Jonathan Tobin:

The whining critics of the war who predicted doom and gloom if America attacked Iraq are being proven wrong. As further evidence of Saddam's misdeeds continue to surface, those who counseled trusting in the power of the United Nations to fix the problem are similarly discredited.

But whatever satisfaction we can take in deflating the "blame-America first" crowd, the next battles in the political wars over how America should deal with the Middle East are just beginning.

The conflict will center on two fronts. One will be over the struggle to create a democracy in postwar Iraq. The other will be whether or not the victorious coalition simultaneously attempts to weaken the region's only existing democracy in order to empower one of Saddam Hussein's few remaining allies.

The job of building a democratic Iraq will be difficult, but at least most of Europe agrees with us on the goal. Effectively dealing with the Arab-Israeli situation will be much more difficult. Most of Europe and all of the Islamic world are all-too-ready to sacrifice Israel's security to appease those who want Israel to disappear. We certainly live in interesting times.