Why Iraq Is Important To America
Dr. W. David Currie

Just suppose that, given the opportunity to self-govern, Iraq does not fall on its face as predicted by many in the media, and many in Hollywood.  Just suppose that the Iraqi people work to overcome the typical 25-30% unemployment rates and 50% poverty levels experienced by nearly all non-democratic Muslim nations.  Self-rule puts that possibility, for the first time, in the hands of the people of Iraq.  That is what democracy is all about, after all, at least as practiced in America by a few politicians who still say what they mean, mean what they say, and follow through on their promises... unlike politicians in nations like Canada, or France, where empty political promises have brought formerly democratic nations to the brink of socialism.

It won't take much to improve life in Iraq... elimination of Saddam's rape and death squads, and torture houses was a good start.  But what will happen if adoption of democratic principles in Iraq leads to increased freedom of speech, improved living conditions (including the ability to sleep without fear), increased rights for women and children, real improvements in education, and improvements in health care.  Just suppose when all the smoke clears, Iraq establishes a true democratic election process, with equal representation of all of its people, regardless of sex or religion.  It won't be easy.  Iraq is sandwiched between terrorist havens Syria and Iran.  But what an exciting opportunity that has been given to the people of Iraq... to rise up from 30 years of sleepless, terror-filled nights... and to have done so with the helping hand of a coalition of nations led by America.

Despite what many people believe, there are already Christian people in the Middle East... just not very many.  For example, Armenia, located north of Iran, and northeast of Iraq, is a Christian republic.  Armenia suffers an unemployment rate of about 20%, with nearly half the nation living below the poverty level.  It doesn't help that Armenia is in a constant struggle with primarily Muslim Azerbaijan, which shares identical economic problems, and is one of the most polluted nations in the world, to the east.  Despite what you may often have heard, there are also democratic republics in the Middle East.  In fact, there are a few.  At least one of those democracies is holding its own, economically.

Turkey, north of Iraq, enjoys a parliamentary style democracy, with elections held every 7 years.  With a population that is nearly exclusively Sunni Muslim, Turkey enjoys one of the lowest unemployment rates in the Middle East, approximately 11%.  Only 18% of the population live below the poverty line.

So if there are already Christians (albeit very few) in the Middle East, and there are already democracies in the Middle East (albeit very few), why is Iraq so important to America?  Iraq stood alone in the Middle East as a nation that was ruled through three decades by blatant military tyranny.  The military tyrant leader, Saddam Hussein, was known to be practicing genocide, while much of the modern world stood by... in fact, many in the American media continue to Bush bash while overlooking nearly 1 million deaths caused by Saddam.  Many in the American media also continue to claim that it is impossible to establish a democracy in the Middle East, although we know that is purely nonsense as there are already democracies in the Middle East.

To the west of Iraq is Syria, also a long-standing military regime, and also with a population of primarily Sunni Muslims.  With Israel to its west, Syria has never had any interest in making enemies with Muslim neighbors to the east.  With any luck, Syria may now find itself sandwiched between two democratic nations.  Syria is suspected to be the home of a number of terrorist organizations, and probably received weapons from Iraq prior to the coalition invasion of Iraq.  With 20% unemployment, and 20% living below the poverty line, many young people in Syria, like their counterparts in Turkey to the north, wish to become increasingly westernized.  An integral part of westernization is to share in the determination of one's destiny through the ability to vote, and to drift away from traditionally harsh Islamic law.

To the east of Iraq is Iran, an Islamic Republic.  Iran is sandwiched between Iraq to the west, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the east... and is just a stones throw to Turkey to the northwest.  Iran is a hotbed of interest for nearly every human rights organization in the world, primarily because women are considered to be something akin to "property," albeit women now have the right to vote.  At the same time that Iran is undergoing democratic reform, Iran is also suspected to be harboring terrorists and working to develop nuclear weapons technology.  With democracy in its infancy in Iran, and with clerics widely opposing democratic reform, the birth of democracy in neighboring Iraq might prove beneficial to the young people behind democratic reform in Iraq.

South of Iraq is Saudi Arabia, bounded by Yemen and Oman to the south, and the United Arab Emirates to the southeast.  The kingdom (monarchy) of Saudi Arabia is 100% Muslim.  Despite the evident wealth of the Saudi royal family, all is not well in Saudi Arabia.  As we have recently learned, the Saudi royal family may no longer have control over terrorists residing in their country... not a good situation at all for the Saudi royal family.  Further, the unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia is approximately 25%, and over 20% of adults can neither read nor write.  Jordan is another monarchy, albeit a constitutional monarchy.  Below Syria on the west side of Iraq, Jordan suffers 30% unemployment with 30% of its people living below the poverty line.  Over 90% of Jordanians are Sunni Muslim.  Clearly, the monarchies of the Middle East are not running as smoothly as we once believed.

So Iraq is poised to fall back into some form of chaos, or to become a shining beacon of democracy in the middle of a number of not so successful Muslim nations.  Iraqis have the opportunity to adopt, protect, and love a new Constitution, the way Americans once loved and protected their constitution (before it became illegal to imprison people planning to blow up Americans).  Iraqis also have the opportunity to improve standards of living for all, which  will reduce the incidence of homegrown terrorism.  Homegrown terrorism can never be completely eliminated; remember Terry Nichols.  Iraqis will now have the opportunity to take people who would terrorize those seeking to improve their lot in life, and to eliminate them through imprisonment, deportation, or, well, elimination.  Remember, it won't be easy... Saddam's cronies among Syria's military regime to the west, Iran's Muslim clerics in opposition to democratic reform to the east...