America invaded Iraq for national security purposes. The military objective was to eliminate the threat that Saddam Hussein presented to America with weapons of mass destruction ties to Al Quad and possible intentions to arm terrorists with these weapons in order to attack America on our own soil. These goals were within the capabilities of the armed forces and have been accomplished. The Bush Administration's attempt to use the military to establish a democratic government in Iraq has failed. It is obvious that the administration has failed in its efforts, or we would be able to leave them in their own capable hands. There are three ways in which democracies have been formed in history. It is necessary to understand the way that democracies have previously been formed in order to understand why our efforts have failed and to discover what efforts we can make in order to establish a democracy in Iraq.
Democracies have been established by people who became united in their own defense against a common threat to their whole society. The ancient Greeks established every kind of institution to govern a society in their city-states. The democracies established held requirements for people governed to meet in order to enjoy the full benefits of citizenship. Spartan male children were required to meet certain martial standards to become citizens, and only men could be landowners and citizens in Athens. The threat of genocide to the majority of Greeks and slavery for the survivors presented by the massive force assembled for this purpose by the Persians required all the Greeks to cooperate in their common defense for their survival. The Greeks began to realize the potential power of their mutual cooperation with their efforts to successfully repel the Persian force, and citizenship became opened to more people in their societies. Spartan reliance upon the non-citizens to provide them with their sustenance resulted in the decline of Spartan influence in Greece even though they provided the backbone for the Greeks military defense. Athens allowed any man who owned their own weapons and armor that was willing to fight in their common defense the right to be a citizen and prospered.
Democracies have also been established by people who became united in their own defense against a common threat posed by their own governments. America and England each established democracies and united to defend themselves against the abuses of power by the governing authority. The peasants and noblemen in England united to challenge the authority of their king and forced him to share with them the nation's political power. Their successful revolution resulted in the establishment of their personal rights and the formation of a Parliament representing both the peasants and aristocracy in the Houses of Lords and Commons. America reluctantly decided to sever our ties to England after diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict failed and war was being waged against the colonies from several fronts. We established our government as a result of our successful revolution. American and English history shows that the people governed became united together in a common defense before they established democracies in their societies.
Democracies have also been established by force in countries after the invaders who conquered them fought wars. The invading power always suppressed any resistance to their own power before allowing the rest of the people to begin establishing democratic institutions to govern over themselves. The Napoleonic code of France, the civil code established in their own country, was imposed over all the nations conquered by Napoleon after he had established by might his own right to the authority to rule over them. We ourselves crushed all resistance in Germany and Japan, who we bombed into submission with nuclear weapons, before we attempted establish democratic institutions among them.
Our military faced little organized resistance by the Iraqi military or the Republican Guard. The national forces, which traditionally have defended nations from foreign invasion, appeared to fold under the strength of our attack. Iraqi soldiers threw down their weapons and joined the people, or they dispersed and took cover from our attacks. Saddam Hussein ran for cover and was discovered alone, without guards, and hiding in a hole in the ground. The meek behavior of Hussein from the time he was captured until his death towards his captors is totally out of character for him, and he has always shown himself to be belligerent and prone to violence. The fact that Hussein was discovered in such circumstances implies that he ordered his military forces to disperse and hide throughout the land as well. For the Republican Guard soldiers were personally loyal to Hussein, and he went to his grave setting an example for his soldiers to follow. We turned Hussein over to the authority of the regime we have establis |