There is no doubt that toppling the despotic and tyrannical regime of Saddam has brought contentment to the people of Iraq and in the region at large. That regime had massacred thousands of noble Iraqis, foisted two devastating wars onto our region, and left behind a long record of criminal behavior marked with its deployment of weapons of mass destruction and engagement in chemical warfare.

Not least, Iran, which had withstood harshest of atrocities in the hands of the despotic and predatory regime of Saddam, found satisfaction in witnessing its downfall.

Nevertheless, it is undeniable that the US occupation of Iraq has intensified crises by turning Iraq into a hotbed of tension, violence and destruction. First and foremost this has cost the Iraqis, and then the American people, who are held to shoulder the conflict's heavy burden.

American citizens already have inquired about and should continue to question the grounds for this military adventurism that the delusion and poor judgment of the power elite has instigated. This has yielded nothing but carnage, has unleashed waves of hatred, and has accrued hundreds of billions of dollars of expenditure in the name of the great nation of America.

Clearly, this war cannot be characterized as a “Just War” in so far as it has failed to eradicate violence and terrorism, and only has escalated violence and provided the extremists with more ammunition to pursue their devastating endeavor. Neither in goals nor methods is a "Just War" compatible with occupation and escalating violence. Therefore, this war has no measure of justification in the scale of freedom and justice.

I suggest that the American people be more acutely alarmed by the pernicious policies that are formulated and implemented with the aim of fanning the flames of tribal, sectarian, and ethnic conflict in Iraq. This is perpetrated in order to rationalize the continued presence of occupying forces there. Should this fire be allowed to spread, nothing will be saved. Particularly, it will bring the fledgling democracy in Iraq to its collapse.

Thereby, the yearning of the people in the region for self-determination and attaining acceptable levels of freedom, independence and development will be suffocated by the dark waters of extremism.

The US should avoid the blunder of increasing the number of its troops in Iraq. Rather, as many better-informed politicians have advised, the US should urgently arrange for its troops’ exit from the quagmire it has created.

It is a pity that the proposal I presented to the Secretary General of the United Nations prior to the occupation of Iraq was never accepted. I had earnestly proposed that countries neighboring Iraq should collaborate with the five permanent members of the Security Council and under the direct supervision of the United Nations find a way to remove the cancerous regime of Saddam from our beloved Iraq.

My proposal was rejected because of the conceited intervention on the part of the US but the grave predictions it made regrettably materialized.

Here is what I suggest that we urgently must do:
1) Terminate the occupation, cut off the root cause of conflict, and thereby disarm violent extremism.
2) Strengthen the foundations of democracy in Iraq and support the establishment of security, intelligence, and law and order by the government. We should give the people of Iraq and their popular government the opportunity to base the fledgling democracy in that country on a firm foundation.
3) Engage in a concerted effort at reconstructing Iraq and helping the central government respond to the demands of the oppressed people of Iraq and lay the foundation for development and progress in that country. All this is impossible to achieve without putting an end to occupation and foreign intervention. Especially, ethnic and sectarian separatism must stop.

The US may be able to guarantee its long-term interests–should they be based on justice--by adhering to realism, avoiding delusional fantasies of politicians, and committing to the support of security and development in the region.