Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and once high-flying Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean do not see eye to eye on the virtues of the Iraq War, but they and other leading Democrats and Republicans agree on the same key policy position: Now that we are in Iraq we must "stay the course." If we get out without leaving a reasonably stable and democratic Iraq, it will have catastrophic consequences for American policy in Iraq and the region and generally undermine American credibility around the world.
The Bush Administration and some Democrats have also argued that American success in creating a democratic Iraq will have an enormous payoff, that it will transform the Middle East's political scene, and even contribute significantly to an Arab-Israeli peace settlement. In his recent State of the Union address Bush put it eloquently: "We will finish the historic work of democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq, so those nations can light the way for others and help transform a troubled part of the world." On this proposition, however, there are qualms. Can Iraq create a stable, reasonably democratic system in any short-term period that can endure? Can even a lengthy American presence ultimately help produce such an Iraq? Would the creation of a reasonably democratic Iraq have the bountiful benefits the Bush Administration foresees? All these are debatable.
