Was Bush right about Iraq?

Interesting front-page story in The New York Times today about how Iraqis are reaching across religious lines for the first time to promote secular political parties in the upcoming elections.


So let me see if I have this straight: Saddam Hussein is gone, the biggest irritant in the Middle East, and six years later, we have free democratic elections involving secular parties in the heart of the world's most troubled region. Most of that trouble is due to factions of Islam that we have been told forever could never be reconciled. If those elections are successful, which seems highly likely, reform-minded Iranians are sure to take note and be even further emboldened, as will be reformers in other countries in the region.


Several thousand Americans died in the process, which is certainly heartbreaking for the families involved, but that's a calculated risk when you sign up for the military. Particularly in the wake of 9/11. The total number of casualties, meanwhile, is lower than virtually any other military action in U.S. history, and the payoff is that the Middle East has been forced into the 21st Century.


I won't hold my breath waiting for the flood of articles reassessing Bush's decision to invade Iraq.