...while no one doubts Saddam's despotism, America's European and Arab allies seem hesitant to rid themselves of "the devil they know." Lewis, by contrast, is "very optimistic" about a post-Saddam Iraq.
"I think Iraq is in many ways the most advanced, most developed of the Arab countries. The Iraqi government of the time probably did a better job than any other of putting its oil revenues to constructive use. They built an infrastructure, they built a good educational system. I have personal dealings with Iraqi universities through their graduate students who came to study with me, and they were in general much better prepared, much better trained, than those of other universities in the region.
"Although all this has suffered terrible damage at the hands of Saddam Hussein, it has not been entirely destroyed. I see the possibility of a genuinely enlightened and progressive and - yes, I will say the word - democratic regime arising in a post-Saddam Iraq. They will have been fully inoculated against the Fascist-style governments that otherwise seem to prevail."
Meanwhile, Kenneth M. Pollack argues that, on balance, we need to invade and topple Sadaam. Safire has warned against letting Sadaam use negotiations over weapons inspections to prevent us from targetting him. The WSJ agrees it would be "wild weapons chase."
And in Iraq itself, reports indicate that Saddam is quaking in his boots.
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