Saddam Looms Over Our Middle East Policy, or Lack Thereof

I am not ignorant of who he was or the horrible acts he committed, but he served a purpose. And it was one countless other dictators who are, or have been, American darlings serve - keeping order abroad that benefits American interests.

The only thing the George W. Bush administration did when it launched an unprovoked attack on Iraq (other than fill the pockets of corporations with blood money and further destabilize the Middle East for decades) was confirm what opponents had been saying in the months leading up to the war - Saddam is contained, keeping order in Iraq, and poses no direct threat to the United States.

When our forces were caught in the middle of an Iraqi civil war I was discussing the issue with my friends. At one point I said, "you know what Iraq needs? A dictator." We laughed, but all conceded it was largely the truth. And the lack of that dictator continues to loom over our lack of a foreign policy in the Middle East - outside of making the military industrial complex richer, of course.