Ampersand on why it matters what intentions Iraq’s
“liberators” had/have:
Before the war on Iraq, some pro-war liberals were asking why it mattered if the Bush administration’s heart was in the right place; what’s important is that Iraq be “liberated,” not what’s in the hearts of the liberators. But what’s happened in Afghanistan shows that sincerity does count for something. Liberation – if it can be imposed from outside at all – is a long, tedious process, requiring a genuine commitment, not just pretty words. In Afghanistan and now in Iraq, it’s become clear that the United States lacks that commitment.