As Free as it Gets

I just zapped this off to The New York Times. (I have goal of trying to get a letter published.)

Although against the invasion of Iraq, and although as bad as it is right now, and with a pessimistic outlook for the future, I know that currently the Iraqis are as free as they ever were or will be. No country in the Middle East is as free as is Iraq right now...as long as the Americans are there. Unlike previous Crusaders, these Americans bring the hope of democracy and freedom.

Whatever are individual American's or corporate America's hidden agenda for Iraq, the free markets that the Americans bring will provide the highest benefit for the most people. The end of the Cold War was proof that free markets perform better than planned economies. However, I believe Iraqis will eventually loose that freedom after the Americans are gone. The South Vietnamese know what I'm saying -- as if they get to read The New York Times.

In fact with the provisional government's declaration of some sort of "marshal law", the greatest freedom may have already passed. The future is one of either a strong man using the army and police that the Americans are creating to setup a hard-fisted rule (somewhat like Saddam's regime), or the rule of the mullahs like in Iran, and of course there is the possible civil war breaking Iraq into two or three separate entities. Whatever W and his necons advisors running foreign policy has gotten us into, this period for the Iraqis or any of the other Arabic nations will be the freest as any will gets for a long, long time.