Christian Science Monitor on Iraqi turmoil

A report in the Christian Science Monitor describing the situation in Iraq said "The toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime was supposed to usher in a new era for the Middle East, according to the architects of the invasion, one in which Islamic extremism would be rooted out and budding democracies would replace stifling dictatorships."

The Christian Science Monitor report added "Yet the region three years on is experiencing heightened sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, expanding Islamic militancy, high levels of anti-Western hostility, and authoritarian regimes still clinging to power, analysts say," with fears of a Shiite crescent stretching from Iran to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

The Christian Science Monitor quoted David Mack, vice president of the Washington-based Middle East Institute saying "The balance sheet on Iraq since the US invasion has some positive aspects, but in most respects it is negative, (While the invasion ousted Mr. Hussein's brutal regime, the subsequent turmoil) has probably strengthened the ability of autocratic regimes to resist evolutionary political change," because people, though want change, are reluctant to want to live the possible violence accompanying change done in this manner.