It strikes me as very silly, this debate over whether or not the US will “attack” or “invade” Iran. We don’t need to invade or attack; we are already at war with Iran. They know it, the Bush Administration knows it, the US military know it… Why don’t you?

The day we invaded Iraq to remove Saddam and assist the Iraqis in establishing their own democratic government we, in a real sense, declared war on Iran, and Syria, and every other Islamic-style government on the face of the Earth. Afghanistan was somewhat different because the Taliban closely harbored and supported al Qaeda. Everyone knew we were going there and what the final outcome of that battle would be.

But Iraq was still a question mark. And even if we did take Saddam out, no one knew if we would then stick around to help foster democracy in that nation.

But President Bush had already made the decision; it was time for the Middle East as a whole to begin experiencing the same process of democritization that so many other regions in the world have been experiencing. I think a recent Opinionjournal.com article written by Joshua Muravchik helps make my point:

Those who are skeptical of injecting issues of freedom, democracy and human rights into the conduct of foreign policy call themselves “realists,” and they accuse their opposite numbers–the so-called idealists–of an almost juvenile enthusiasm. But a sober reading of the historical evidence shows that President Bush and his fellow idealists are more realistic than the “realists.”

To begin with, the idealists are right about the possibility for freedom and democracy to spread across borders and cultures. In 1775 there were no democracies. Then came the American Revolution and raised the number to one. Some 230 years later there are 117, accounting for 61% of the world’s governments…

Moreover, there is the factor of example and momentum: As the proportion of democracies rises, it will become harder for the remaining authoritarians to hold out. The skeptics ridicule President Bush for declaring his ultimate goal to be the end of tyranny. But today probably no more than 20% of the world’s governments could rightly be called by that name, whereas once the proportion was vastly higher. Why shouldn’t that 20% go the way of the others?

The one region completely left behind, until now, by this democratic revolution is the Middle East and North Africa, where Israel remains the only democracy among 18 states. In the wake of 9/11, President Bush concluded that it was no accident that this region where democracy was uniquely absent was the epicenter of global terrorism, and it was here that he launched his campaign for freedom, of which last week’s speech was a broader statement.

The invasion of Iraq, then, is FAR more than just an effort to remove one annoying and likely dangerous dictator… It was nothing less than a modern D-Day-style invasion meant to establish a beachhead of democracy among the various tyrannical governments of that region.

Again I say; they know it, the Bush Administration knows it… why don’t you?

A successful democracy in Iraq will prove wrong once and for all the naysayers who believe that Islam and democracy cannot coexist. A successful democracy in Iraq will embolden the growing insurgencies in Iran and Syria, as well as in other nations ruled by tyrants in that region. And, finally, a democratic government in Iraq, with a widening sphere of democracies growing out from that nation, will become a knife blow to the heart of Islamic-style terrorism.

And that is exactly why both Syria and Iran are backing the terrorists operating in Iraq.

It was a consequence that I don’t think Osama bin Laden ever considered; that we would challenge the tyranical, male-dominated governments in the middle east with our most potent weapon… Liberty!

If Iraqis choose liberty, then so will Iranians, and Syrians, and the Lebanese. And many other nations in that region which are not yet democracies. All that will happen without having to invade those lands and without having to fire a shot. They will take heart from Iraq and they will free themselves. Ultimately, they’ll choose a brand of democracy that suits their culture and their way of life, just as so many other nations have.

Yes… They know it… And now you know it too.

David Flanagan
Viewpointjournal.com