Even those who completely oppose the invasion of Iraq, like myself, had to feel good about the reports and imagines of people celebrating the downfall of Hussein's regime today. We can't help but be grateful that the nightmare of Saddam Hussein has been lifted from their lives. But, make no mistake about it, we don't think the joy in Baghdad today justifies the terror, destruction, and loss of life this war has already caused. But it is a fact of life that sometimes good things happen in bad situations. The end, however, doesn't justify the means.

America has removed an enemy we all felt threatened by. The means our country chose of attacking Iraq, has, as often happens, created as many or more problems than it has solved for us. Yes, Iraqis are cheering America today, but their feelings towards the United States, and the quality of their future as compared to their past, is still very much in doubt. By using the violence of war, instead displaying the patience to use other means for confronting Hussein's regime, America has set in motion a cycle of increased violence that will not end with a new Iraqi government. As we have already seen in the problems Afghanistan is facing, winning a war is a lot easier than rebuilding a country. The devastation of three weeks of warfare, and the hate and mistrust America's invasion has sowed throughout the Mideast, will make this task even more difficult than the problems faced in Afghanistan.

So let's all feel good for the liberated Iraqi people in Baghdad tonight. But let's not take solace in victory, for this war we've started has only begun. Now the hard part begins....

From today's Washington Post lead editorial:

Yet the best way to build on the success of the Iraqi military campaign will be not by threatening other regimes but by allowing Iraqis to construct a government that offers them political freedom, human rights and a chance to prosper in the global economy. That task will be in many ways harder, and will certainly take longer, than this waning war; and the Bush administration's readiness for it is questionable. Success will require more flexibility, patience and willingness to work with allies than were present in the administration's prewar diplomacy or than it has so far shown in its postwar planning. The United States cannot rebuild Iraq or shepherd Iraqis to democracy by willfully excluding Europe, the United Nations or Iraqis not of its choosing; any attempt to do so would risk squandering the gratitude and goodwill that were so evident yesterday on the streets of Baghdad.