Here we are, five years into a war and occupation that might take 20 or more years before the dust settles. I am talking, of course, about Iraq. Having invested a year of my life in the country, I have a real interest in how things turn out.
One of the most important questions that needs to be asked long term is – how have we improved freedom in the lives Iraqis? Five years in the violence levels may be going down and that is a good thing. What I would love to see now is a documentary that asks regular Iraqis if they feel freer now than they did under Saddam. It will be very important to track the freedom index in Iraq and the United States over the next two decades. If the freedom index improves in both places then I will consider our ill named “war on terror” a success. If not, then it is a failure. So many factors will play a role both here in the U.S. and “over there.”
Let’s start with you, my blog readers – do you feel freer now than you did five years ago? If I could make a living answering this question, I would do so in a heartbeat. Unfortunately I’m not John Stossel.