Saddam would be truly dumb not to destroy his al Samoud missiles. Although they’re not WMDs, they are illegal under the current sanctions. And the p.r. effect of destroying them would be enormous among the gullible peace-at-any-price Europeans. But it’s the WMDs – especially the unaccounted for anthrax, botulinum, and VX gas – that we need real answers about. And action. Meanwhile, good news about the prospect for democracy after liberation. Paul Wolfowitz – and not some anonymous leaker to the Washington Post – clearly stated yesterday that Iraq is “not going to be handed over to some junior Saddam Hussein. We’re not interested in replacing one dictator with another dictator.” That’s a relief. The proof of that, of course, will be tested in the coming months and years. But I believe Wolfowitz. And trust him.
IRAQ AND IRAN: My friend, Michael Ledeen, has long argued that the theocratic mafia in Tehran is by far the gravest threat in the Middle East. He’s right. No surprise that the mullahs are trying to go nuclear. And no surprise that the people they oppress see the looming liberation of Iraq as a godsend. A rare piece of good reporting from Iran in the Los Angeles Times yesterday captured the effect a successful removal of Saddam could have on its more powerful neighbor:
Some Iranians, particularly the young, say they would actually welcome a U.S. presence in Iraq because it would increase pressure on both their country’s conservative Islamic regime and the fractured reformers who oppose it. The regime’s efforts to portray the U.S. as the “Great Satan” have failed to sway young people, who are a clear majority of Iranians. About 70% of the country’s 70 million people are younger than 30. Young people in particular associate the U.S. with the opportunities and freedoms that Iran, with its sluggish economy and stern moral code, lacks. They believe that better relations with the U.S. would revitalize Iranian life and help the country shed its pariah status.
Then my favorite quote in the story:
“Are they changing their mind?” Goli Afshar, a 23-year-old student, asked as she alternately tightened and loosened her grip on a mug at a cafe on Gandhi Street. “Can they hurry up with Iraq already, so they can get on with attacking us?”
My feelings entirely, Goli. We’ve already dawdled for far too long.
The Dish 