The Guardian has a provocative piece by an Iraqi exile titled Staying Above the Soil. The title is pretty simple to understand:

In later years, even this option was not on offer. Everyone who wished to remain "above the soil", in the eloquent words of the Iraqi poet, Sa'adi Yousuf, had to join the Ba'ath party. If you refused, you and your family could expect an uncertain future, and lose your right to remain above the soil.

The article asks several troubling questions with no easy answers.

Many questions came to mind: Why did the world allow him to cause so much devastation and suffering in Iraq? Why was the Arab world happy to support a mass murderer? What would have Iraq looked like if we had a government like the one in Kuwait, or even Jordan? Would it not have been a sought-after destination for historians, archaeologists, believers of all world religions, as well as ordinary holidaymakers?



Wouldn't Iraqis have become the most educated and sophisticated people in the whole region? Would they not have been a force for democracy, human rights and moderation in the Middle East?

How many lives would have been saved? What would the Iraqi population have been if Iraq had not had the Saddam government? 40 million? 50 million? How many Iraqis have been deprived of their lives just because Saddam Hussein and his family wanted to enjoy absolute power?