A lot. There are videos all over the internet showing how people were killed. Saddam was a dictator and a harsh one at that. He killed thousands and ill treated millions. Were they not muslims?
I accept a lot of people died/are dying now but at least they have ensured a great future. 20 years from now things would be completely different. Could you expect something nice in Saddam's rule?
Taliban never attacked Pakistan before, but it now is desperately after Pak, since Pak is now helping US in WoT. Does that mean Taliban was good? No. You wipe them out today. You'll have a great future.
To save millions, it is crucial to sacrifice thousands.
My friend, no body really liked Saddam.
However it is not a very simple matter that we conclude a golden future for Iraq now that he is gone.
Iraq did not have a democracy but they had sound infrastructure, health plan, education plans etc.
After first gulf war it mostly went down the drain but still they could have recovered, then the second war happened and broke the country into many factions and chaos reigned supreme, much of which could have been avoided...
The first war was Saddam's mistake and no doubt he is to be blamed for it.
However what happened after the first war is not something i can agree to as the best thing possible...
Leaving aside the WMD fiasco which in itself is a huge issue, the manner in which the Iraq reconstruction effort was dealt with was absolutely pathetic.
The experts like Gen Jay Garner which US had at its disposal were sidelined despite having a much better grasp of the job at hand, Bush and his close group really messed it up big time.
I suggest watching a very solid documentary called "No End In Sight", it has interviews with most of people involved in the post war scenario and is not filled with any conspiracy theory but facts alone.
How the US commanders in field could have saved some strategic locations but were only tasked to protect the oil ministry.
The chaos only spread when there was no law and order, the Iraqi museum which housed some of the most valuable artifacts in history was looted and pillaged despite the US commanders being contacted by concerned people who wanted to save the heritage of Iraq.
However these are small examples, the bigger blunder was how the Iraqi Army was treated, despite Jay Garner's sound plan to seek their support in post war reconstruction.
The US commanders wanted the Iraqi Army to maintain law and order and this was a very logical thing to do and fully backed by Gen Jay Garner in his capacity as the one overseeing the post war reconstruction.
A force of 500,000 Iraqis would have helped control the chaos and bring about normalcy and stability.
The officers of the Iraqi Army entered into talks with US commanders and everything was on track for a decent setup.
They were not Saddam Loyalists and were all sick of the past regime.
They would have been the best thing for those seeking reconstruction!
On may 11 Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) head was changed and Paul Bremer took over from Gen Jay Garner, a sad day indeed for Iraq since all sense was lost.
Mr. Paul Bremer without consulting the experts and many of those who mattered (as confirmed in the interviews) went ahead and disbanded the Iraqi Military within weeks, all were shocked and many were angered.
This led to the Insurgency because now hundreds of thousands of soldiers were out of job and forced to fend for themselves in the streets...this was not a mistake...it was a criminal negligence of the government of USA that allowed this to happen when its own experts did not agree to this step.
The US military was doing the right thing and all of a sudden they were sidelined and entire future of the Iraqi people was put in further jeopardy because Paul Bremer wanted to de Baathify Iraq...the human cost of this decision was of tragic proportions for all parties involved.
To serve the ego of few men like Paul Bremer, the lives of many Iraqis, aid workers, US military, UN etc. were thrown away.
I wish it was a sacrifice of thousands to save millions, it was simply not the case in the end due to certain villains who were allowed to get away with Murder.
I have great respect for Gen Jay Garner, his staff and many US (and UK) officers who were genuinely trying to stabilize the situation, however the political leadership which sidelined all the logic to satisfy its ego is inexcusable.