Supporting Iraqi democracy

Shadi Hamid explains why he changed his mind about the Iraq war:

There is a part of me that still is and will always be against the Iraq war. However noble the ends, the means will always be wrapped in a cloud of moral ambiguity. I remain, in every sense of the word, conflicted. I remember in the early spring of 2003, empowered by the heady idealism of a young activist, I committed myself to the cause in which I so emphatically believed... Looking back, I think we were wrong.
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On January 30, 2005, I saw something which would shatter any remaining illusions that opposing war in Iraq was the only moral position to take. Checking the news headlines online in my apartment in Jordan, I saw heart-wrenching pictures of thousands of Iraqis lining up, braving terrorist threats, to vote for the first time in their lives. These days, it is truly rare to be overwhelmed by hope but overwhelmed I was. In a hundred years, I expect - and I pray - that future generations will look back at January 30th as a historic moment, a moment that would forge the identity and aspirations of a people. For more than five decades, the Arab people have been denied their freedom by their own leaders as well as by Western powers, the latter fearing that free elections would lead to hostile bands of nationalists, leftists, or, now, Islamists coming to power.

The very thought of Iraqis voting after the unceremonious toppling of a most brutal dictator was both subversive and revolutionary. Millions of Arabs throughout the region, saw the same images on their television screens via satellite channels such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiyya. For those who dared comprehend the moment, the wall of Arab autocracy was being broken down before their eyes.

Of course, the negative aspects of the Iraq war (and there are many) should give even the most fervent supporters of regime change pause. Hundreds of Americans and thousands of Iraqis have died, cities have been destroyed, and America's credibility further eroded by the horror of Abu Ghraib. History has recorded these crimes committed in the name of Iraqi freedom.

In any case, as American Muslims we now have a choice. It is not an easy one, but it is one that we must nonetheless ponder, for our actions - or, more appropriately, our silence - will have consequences. The war itself is over. The past is gone and we can no longer take solace in the empty chants of anti-war protestors who seem woefully unaware of the exigencies of political reality. The emotive chants of "bring the troops home" are at best laughably naïve, and at worst downright offensive. If we withdraw now, Iraq will continue its tragic descent into anarchy. And then civil war and failed state status will be its fate.
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There is a war currently underway between those who engage in the wanton killing of innocents in the name of "resistance" and those who wish to see the Iraqi people move courageously toward a free, dignified, and democratic future. And, I suspect that this time around, the moral position is a clear one - or at least it should be. There are some things in life, politics, and war which are morally ambiguous. This, however, is not one of them.

(Hat tip: MA.)