Reply #11: Saddam is a sadistic bastard - but he kept control in the country.

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Whether Iraq is better off now than it was 5 years ago is kind of a subjective question. I think in some ways it is, but in many others it is not.

I suppose one could say that the country has a chance for a future now. This is the thing that should give the people that are suffering under the current state of affairs in Iraq some hope - what will it be like in 5 or 10 years? Will Iraq recover?

Certainly the dead and injured leave painful memories - the economy is in ruins - the country is occupied - there is street fighting amongst religious and political factions - there are snipers on the streets - military checkpoints are everywhere - being tortured in jail or prison is SOP; just a different gang doing it - POLITICAL ASSASSINATIONS ARE COMMONPLACE.

How do you justify saying that Iraqi's are better off? Its seems to me that the main reason for saying that is that Saddam and his government (some of them) are in jail and his sons are dead. You may not agree with his politics and methods but people could walk the streets.