Quote Originally Posted by Fragony
I agree. It is the way it is, and the arabs are too busy building more palaces to celebrate the fact they were born. So it was a mistake to invade, I still don't believe it was mind you, but it aren't the allied forces that are currently beheading just about anything that has a neck to set a blade on. If Saddam was good at keeping things together then it was only a matter of time before these necrophiles did their sick thing anyway.
Please don't be tendentiously dumb, it's unsightly. Under Saddam many of the nice folks who now chop heads off weren't even in the country (they came later specifically to mess with the Americans and their efforts), and even those who were weren't doing it (since Saddam's goons would have taken them in for disturbing the peace, insurrection, or whatever charges they'd now have bothered thinking up - these kinds of systems tend not be overly pedantic about the details).

Police states are kind of funny in that they're often quite jealous about being the only ones allowed to brutalize and terrorize their populace. They don't seem to like the competition or something. Could also be that letting some wonks run around unchecked would kinda kill their credibility, as they usually try to make a point of claiming they're trying to protect the common folks, honest.

That overall they tend to be the biggest threat to the common folks tends to be generally realized by everyone involved, but obviously not said out loud (without getting visits from the secret police, anyway).