Imagine a government that restricted you from listening to certain types of music like punk rock or hip-hop. What if this same government also decided what clothes you wore everyday, like in the obligatory school codes in private schools? You would probably feel angry and oppressed by the suppression of your individuality and style. Although such a restrictive lifestyle is far from reality in where we live, this was the lifestyle of the Iraqis who lived under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein’s regime. The people were manipulated into a life of fear and they lived a condemned life under a heartless dictator that controlled the populace through inhumane actions to preserve power and office.

I am utterly appalled at the fact that people feel America is doing nothing but shoving its democratic institution down the throats of the Iraqi people. The Iraqi people have been oppressed for decades under a cruel and inhumane dictatorship. The people of Iraq deserve the same privileges and rights we often take for granted in America, such as the freedom of speech and the right to assemble. The largest sources that contribute to these negative perceptions are primarily the television and Internet media. These negative influences have put a far greater emphasis on the death tolls rather than on the focus of the greater good these lives were sacrificed to achieve. I am not in the least bit apathetic of the casualties and their grieving families on either side of the conflict, but we should be well aware that we are at war and wars claims lives.

The creation of “the first Arab democracy” in Iraq will encourage moderates across the Middle East with their struggle against hard-line Muslim leaders, hopefully leading to a more open and fair democratic society. Most importantly, the spread of democracy and prosperity in the region might serve to drain the swamp by removing root causes of terrorism, namely poverty and political repression. Many troops from the U.S. and UN have had to sacrifice their lives on the front line to reassure the safety of elections and the people of Iraq.

For decades, Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime has separated tribal groups of Iraqis such as the Shiites, Kurds, and Sunnis into sectarian and ethnic divides. Hussein maintained these divisions to sustain his control over political and religious aspects in order to preserve power and status of office. In 1983 a rebellious Kurdish clan known as the Barzanis rose up against Hussein’s regime. The following event resulted in a systematic killing of over 100,000 Kurds with severe methods of unimaginable torture. According to The Atlantic Monthly March 2005, some disturbing techniques used to massacre the Kurds included boring holes in their legs with drills, blinding and burning people with acid and even putting people through tree shredders. This sort of cruel mass eradication of people reminded me of the arbitrary and inhumane acts alike in the 1940’s Jewish Holocaust. Like the Kurds, the Jews were discriminated and eradicated because of their culture and beliefs.

All regimes have relied heavily and frequently on the use of patronage and violence to preserve geographical integrity of the state. Saddam Hussein could well have transformed the use of violence into an art form. I believe it is America’s role to spread democracy where it is needed and cried out for. As one of the strongest nations, it is only appropriate we use our powers and influences justly. Although we could use it for our own self- aggrandizement and material benefits, it should be used to aid other people in places less fortunate than us. In early 1900s, president Woodrow Wilson decided that the United States should take the responsibility of bringing “the hope of democracy, development, free market and free trade” to “every corner of the world.” The spread of democracy might have well been the most consistent and traditional foreign policy we have had.

Not only are the U.S. and UN troops collaborating in the fight for justice, but hundreds of Iraqi civilians have also laid down their lives to fight for this cause. These sacrifices are in hopes of a better future based on a democratic system that will enforce equality, justice, freedom and political government that is devoid of repression. Equality will provide an honorable of mention for trivial groups of Iraqis such as the Kurds and Shiites the rare opportunity for minority representation. Justice in a democratic system will implement fair laws. These laws will punish and give tyrant rulers a less likely chance to get away with criminal abuse and mass genocides of people. Along with the protection of equality and justice comes the liberation of freedom and a government where people live free of fear.

If a democratic institution does not succeed by the Iraqi congress, then what may emerge from a contemporary Iraq may be three distinct entities of the Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis. In this case I believe this concluding decision should lie in the hands of the Iraqi people and no longer among our fellow American supporters. But in the interim, it is necessary for Americans to stay allied in the reconstruction of preventing another totalitarian dictator to take over.