Originally Posted by
Venali
The Middle East is a difficult place to hope for growth in. That's by no means an attempt to stake some superiority claim, it's just that they've been involved in a certain way of life for generation after generation. Freedom is wonderful. Most people can agree with that. Some cannot. War, by its nature, leaves a vacuum where it takes place that, despite our best efforts, can only be filled by what the populace gravitates toward. In the Mid-East, that is often restrictive order.
Did we (In the US) hope Iraq blossomed into a freedom-loving, pro-democracy state? Of course we did. Did we have the ability to make it happen? No, only they did. Democracy will eventually spiral into dictatorship if not policed by the people, and if the people accept and welcome dictatorship, the process will be fast. Look through history - mankind endures, and possibly welcomes, oppression as a means to help make decisions for them. Freedom is a difficult notion. We can only hope, at some point, it's one that we all understand.