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March 09, 2005

Reflections on Iraq

Now, let's think about it again.
Was the aspiration to democracy a reason to invade Iraq? asks the columnist Bernard Guetta in the French newsmagazine L'Express.

The author is really questioning the legitimacy of this invasion, so decried by the anti-war movement but encouraged by neo-conservatives who say a new "democratic regime" in Iraq can maybe encourage a change in the region's regimes.

Is the crisis in Lebanon the premise of a small revolution? After the success of the elections in Palestine and in Iraq, should we believe democratic polls will rule from now on?

Even in Syria, some people speak up against the regime. In Egypt, President Moubarak announced constitutional reforms. In Saudi Arabia, first elections were organized and more changes are to come.

All these are good news, but they don't prove George W. Bush was right. It only tells the world that Ariel Sharon realized peace was impossible without a first concrete step, that Lebanese people aspire to govern their country by themselves and that sooner or later, Syrian citizens would have asked for reforms in their country.

As for the Iraqi elections, their price was really high.

But George W. Bush certainly assimilated the "lesson". He proved it in the Lebanese crisis, when the U.S. and France let the U.N. take charge. The U.S. policy might be on the right path to change.

Posted March 9, 2005 10:59 PM

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