it seems to be a prevalent question: if Iraq becomes a democracy will that justify the war?
in my view, a false question. this question has inherent in it a desire to know and predict the future.
the real question it seems to me: is it ok (legal, ethical, moral, smart, prudent) for the United States to take preemptive action against another country such as we did in Iraq?
my answer: No. and it was No in December 2002 when my city joined 70 plus other cities in the US that passed Resolutions opposing the war in Iraq. i was there; i voted.
why is my answer no? what measure do i think we should use to evaluate: if Iraq becomes a democracy will that justify the war?
what measure can we use to guide our decisionmaking? one excellent measure is to strive to live by the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," an ancient measure found across civilizations, and it underlies Rule of Law.
sometimes bad things have good results; does that justify our bad decisionmaking? it's even biblical: God says, you meant it for ill, i used it for good.
that does not let us off the hook for making immoral decisions. when we make a decision, we cannot know the future. we cannot 'play God.' how can we stop being afraid of the future and trying to predict and know? it seems that especially the media think they have to deliver answers (the future) on a platter.
what do we do? we make the best decisions each day, day by day, and require our leaders to be decisionmakers based on sound principles; if we do that, miraculously the future takes care of itself. Faith. i'm not even speaking spiritually; but faith in America; faith in the process; faith in ourselves. and if the process gets screwed up, faith that it can be set right.
the answer to the question, if democracy comes to Iraq will it justify the invasion? cannot wipe away decisions that are made by illegal, immoral, imprudent or unethical standards. it should not take us 1.5 years to be able to evaluate right or wrong. if that's the case, we need to retool our decisionmaking capacities. we cannot afford this kind of learning by trial and error; people die. and although life might feel and seem cheap right now, it's not; not ours and not theirs and especially not the children.
"The indispensable common house of the entire human family." Millenium Declaration, United Nations