"Saddam Hussein was a Unique Threat.And the World is Better Off Without Him in Power."

- George W. Bush, 2nd Presidential Debate -

Well George, we now know for certain that Saddam was not a threat (actually, we've known for quite a long time), so please tell me how the world is better off:

Price spikes have turned onions into a luxury. There is barely any electricity, and the Iraqi telephone networks are so bad that a call-in show with the prime minister had to be canceled...

An aura of resignation has settled over Iraqis as services deteriorate despite promises of improvement. Not even U.S.-backed government officials expect an upturn any time soon...

Faced with constant violence and with everyday life turning into a struggle, many Iraqis who can afford to leave have done so, to countries such as Jordan and Lebanon. People with less money have fled to Syria, which is less picky about the financial position of Iraqis it lets in...

Those who remain have to deal with a lack of fuel and electricity and rising prices that make most things beyond the reach of ordinary people...

A cylinder of liquefied gas for cooking now costs 5,000-10,0000 dinars ($3.50-7) compared with 2,000 dinars two or three months ago and 500 dinars during Saddam Hussein's rule...

"We have simply stopped buying food beyond rations. Our homes are freezing because kerosene is expensive and often not even available," said Raqia, a poor housewife.

"Before we used to curse Saddam Hussein when the electricity went out for a couple of hours a day or so. Now we are lucky if we get that much."

Now I get it: The world IS better off...compared to the situation in Iraq. Brilliant strategy Georgie Boy. Oh, but wait:

In a major new study, the CIA’s National Intelligence Council says Iraq has replaced Afghanistan as the training ground for the next generation of "professionalized" terrorists, officials at the CIA director’s intelligence think-tank said today.

Iraq provides terrorists with "a training ground, a recruitment ground, the opportunity for enhancing technical skills," said David Low, the national intelligence officer for transnational threats. "There is even, under the best scenario, over time, the likelihood that some of the jihadists who are not killed there will, in a sense, go home, wherever home is, and will therefore disperse to various other countries."

Makes you feel safer, don't it?