Let's Not Compare Tunisia and Egypt to Iraq

There were peaceful revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, now in Libya, Bahrain, etc. there are movements building for revolutions, how far those will go or what will happen there isn't what I'm discussing. I'm here to debunk a myth that, if all goes well in a number of Arab states, will be perpetuated by the nostalgic Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld lovers.

Indeed the Rush Limbaugh, Hannity types will point to something that they believe, that the war in Iraq sparked the revolutions in other Arab countries. There is this grand old domino theory that says if you topple one government to create a democracy, then other countries will follow in those footsteps. I believe this theory to be fairly accurate, but it doesn't pertain to anything that happened in Iraq.

You see, what we saw in Iraq was a country, the USA, topple a dictator (go home team), Saddam Hussein. Now I'm all for dictator toppling, but when it comes to sparking revolutions elsewhere, not just in the Arab world but that is what I'm talking about, the US toppling of Iraq's dictatorial regime means nothing because it was direct outside influence that crushed Saddam, it had nothing to do with forces already in the country. So these are some more reasons that Iraq has nothing to do with Tunisia, Libya, etc.:

First of all, when you talk about overthrowing dictatorships with outside force, you then you have to occupy the country, which is what the US is doing in Iraq. Occupation is not a great way to make a ton of friends. Let's say this guy you just met, seems to be nice, just decides to go into your apartment and never leave. Seems kind of rude, doesn't it?

Well that's how a lot of Iraqis see it, which is why people in Tunisia didn't look at Iraq and say, "Well the US did it, why can't we?"

Second, the peaceful uprising in Tunisia came nearly eight years after the US invaded Iraq, eight, and, oh wait, there still isn't a very successful Iraqi government yet. In fact 19 people were killed during protests in Iraq yesterday that are said to echo those protests in Tunisia and Libya. These protests were in demand of more help from the government, for more electricity and clean water.

That leads me perfectly into my third reason, those protesters in Iraq were inspired by protesters in other Arab countries. That might sound obvious, and I'm restating a little bit here, but think about it, that means that people in Iraq have not been inspired by actions in Iraq, it wasn't the Americans who inspired them, it was the Tunisians and the Egyptians and the Libyans. That means the spark came from Tunisia. Tunisia. Not elsewhere but Tunisia. Get my drift? It's all about Tunisia.

Maybe I'm being presumptuous, maybe Cheney or Hannity or even Bush won't say that Iraq had anything to do with these revolutions. But given Cheney's track record and Bush's penchant for book-writing, I just want to be the first to say they were wrong.

They are/were/will be wrong.