ABSTRACT
The war in Iraq was fought by an American military that was better, more efficiently integrated, and technologically advanced than a decade earlier in the first Gulf War. The establishment of a democratic government in Iraq, which would probably require a number of years if it could be accomplished at all, could ultimately serve not only as a final justification for fighting the war, but also as the first step in an effort to transform the political and social environment of the Middle East, to bring about more responsive governments, and to ease the frustrations of their citizens. Drinking alcohol was forbidden and almost all the women, with the exception of a few Chinese, wore headscarves. It seemed to be a stable society, if a bit undeveloped compared with Singapore or even the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, where the country's business and manufacturing was concentrated.
