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Natan The Prophet
If you haven’t read The Case for Democracy–the Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror by former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky, you should. If you want to understand why the Iraqi people should be protected while they establish a stable democracy, you must.
Sharansky makes a compelling case for spreading democracy far and near. The fact is that democratic nations are more peace-loving than totalitarian regimes and, thus, make better neighbors. For critics who don’t believe people or nations can change take a look at Imperialist Japan or Nazi Germany v. their modern democratic counterparts. Sharansky’s analysis was hugely influential on convincing The Leader of the Free World to take a chance on establishing democracy in, of all places, Iraq. Not only was it necessary for Sadaam to be thrown out, it was necessary that democracy be thrown in. And we must now do what it takes to establish, foster, and stabilize a democratic Iraq.
 In thinking about our own founding, which had its own clumsy moments in its infancy, how long would it have taken us to have a stable, functioning democracy if the English had continued to fight a guerilla war on our shores after we had defeated them in the main?
Speaking of which, Sharansky has a great piece in today’s WaPo (H/T NRO) entitled: “Leave Iraq and Brace for a Bigger Bloodbath.”
As the hideous violence in Iraq continues, it has become increasingly common to hear people argue that the world was better off with Hussein in power and (even more remarkably) that Iraqis were better off under his fist.. . . This line of argument began soon after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. By early 2004, some prominent political and intellectual leaders were arguing that women’s rights, gay rights, health care and much else had suffered in post-Hussein Iraq.. . . The truth is that in totalitarian regimes, there are no human rights. Period. The media do not criticize the government. Parliaments do not check executive power. Courts do not uphold due process. And human rights groups don’t file reports.For most people, life under totalitarianism is slavery with no possibility of escape. That is why despite the carnage in Iraq, Iraqis are consistently less pessimistic about the present and more optimistic about the future of their country than Americans are.
Having experienced the horrors of a totalitarian regime, Natan Sharansky knows of what he speaks. Natan then turns to The Surge and our need to support it–even if one disagreed with the invasion:
No one can know for sure whether President Bush’s “surge” of U.S. troops in Iraq will succeed. But those who believe that human rights should play a central role in international affairs should be doing everything in their power to maximize the chances that it will. For one of the consequences of failure could well be catastrophe.
A precipitous withdrawal of U.S. forces could lead to a bloodbath that would make the current carnage pale by comparison. Without U.S. troops in place to quell some of the violence . . . [t]he death toll and the displacement of civilians could climb exponentially.
Perhaps the greatest irony of the political debate over Iraq is that many of Bush’s critics, who accused his administration of going blindly to war without considering what would happen once Hussein’s regime was toppled, now blindly support a policy of withdrawing from Iraq without considering what might follow.
We are doing our part to “maximize the chances” that The Surge will succeed. Life depends on it.
Support The Surge!