Would eliminating just Saddam put a stop to Iraqs development of chemical and biological weapons?
It could. I think that any regime that followed Saddam and that wanted to avoid his fate would be wise to cooperate with the Western world in winning back Iraq’s place among civilized nations. The point of going in and getting rid of Saddam would be to create or support a regime there that would lead to democratization—an opening up of the society and a government that wasn’t belligerent to the United States and the rest of the world. You talked about some of the reforms Saddam made back before he evolved into a tyrant—building schools and hospitals, and improving health care and national literacy. You write that, earlier in his career, Saddam was considered “the best hope for secular modernization.” Do you think Iraq might be relatively well primed to adopt a democratic style of government because of the groundwork that Saddam laid long ago? I doubt it. But there are certainly people who argue that. The Iraqi National Congress, which is the group of expatriates that the United States
