Baghdad's fall leaves much work to be done
When U.S. Marines helped topple a 40-foot statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad's main square Wednesday, Iraq's liberation seemed all but complete. The smiles and cheers of those Iraqis in the street spoke for themselves: After more than two decades of Saddam's brutal rule, coalition forces were realizing Iraqis' secret hopes for freedom.
Still, that historic moment was more of a turning point than a culmination. U.S. forces likely will face more guerrilla-style resistance in Baghdad and more organized opposition in Tikrit, Saddam's hometown. Much of the population, for all its jubilation Wednesday, remains fearful and suspicious of American intentions. Some of the oppressed won't breathe easy until they know Saddam is dead -- though if he isn't, he might as well be, without the power of a police-state at his brutal disposal.
There is much work to be done in building trust and rebuilding infrastructure, in halting the looting and other lawlessness, in safely distributing food and medicine, in laying the groundwork for a new government.
And as this war winds down, the battle over what comes next could be intense. Ethnic groups may resist power-sharing. And the Western-style democracy envisioned by the White House and some at the United Nations will be bitterly resisted by some who'd prefer hard-line Islamist rule.
But when the war started three weeks ago, who could have guessed that coalition forces could have come so far so fast?
And how wonderful it is to realize what hasn't happened in this war, including Somalia-style urban ambushes, the defensive use of chemical and biological weapons, and further terrorist attacks at home.
Dangers and uncertainties remain. And the satisfaction of near-victory is tempered by the loss of lives in the effort, and by the heartache of the families of prisoners of war waiting for word on their loved ones.
We hope that the Iraqi people, and indeed all the Arab world, saw those street celebrations and better understood the military operation that made them possible. Wednesday's events aren't likely to end the debate about the legitimacy of the offensive at home or abroad.
But there can be no mistaking the reaction of those Iraqis. Liberty needs no translation.
VETO IT
Dictating KU class' content not legislators' job
State Sen. Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, hasn't just succeeded in making her point about the content of a human-sexuality class at the University of Kansas by getting her fellow lawmakers to pass a provision punitively pulling millions of dollars in funding from the KU School of Social Welfare.
Ms. Wagle also has succeeded in making national news -- in the process inviting out-of-staters everywhere to observe, "Those wacky Kansans. First they banned evolution. Now, they're trying to outlaw sex."
Kansans who've had access to more than the outline of Ms. Wagle's crusade know that such conclusions are unfair, just as they were during the State Board of Education flap over science standards in 1999. Ms. Wagle may have a legitimate complaint about the popular class taught by longtime KU professor Dennis Dailey, whose materials and language may have crossed some sort of line of "community standards."
But the Legislature is the wrong place to make that case. It's up to KU to second-guess Mr. Dailey's use of videos and language that Ms. Wagle deems obscene and, failing that, the Kansas Board of Regents.
Ms. Wagle and her colleagues have overstepped the role of the Legislature and opened the state and its educational system to needless ridicule. By questioning and trying to dictate instructional materials for one class at one university, they have sent shudders through classrooms across the state. The negative national publicity also could hurt the state's urgent efforts to recruit more businesses to its borders.
Now, because the provision inexplicably survived the Senate-House conference committee last week, Ms. Wagle has forced Gov. Kathleen Sebelius into the position of having to veto the amendment to put a stop to the lawmakers' meddling. Without hesitation, Ms. Sebelius should strike the measure from the budget bill. Too bad that doing so won't reverse the damage already done.
(OOC Info: Unless otherwise stated, all materials were found on The Wichita Eagle )
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