Focus on the integrity of borders.

• Author: Zakheim, Dov S.

NEARLY FOUR years into the Iraq War, it has become increasingly clear that the notion of a "successful" outcome requires major revision. Obviously, it is not enough to state that Saddam was deposed and that success already has been achieved. To "declare victory and go home", in the immortal words of Vermont Senator George Aiken, is to ignore the aftermath of Saddam's collapse. The bloodshed, corruption, economic stagnation and political instability that were left in his wake are hardly the indicators of a smashing operational success.

Nor can it be argued that success was achieved when no Weapons of Mass Destruction were found. If that were the case, why are we still in Iraq? Perhaps Senator Aiken would indeed have had our forces come home. But, while Aiken's linear descendants are certainly present on the American political scene, there is still little appetite among the majority of the American public for a complete and immediate withdrawal. Evidently, there is a widespread perception that however success might be defined, it has not yet been achieved.

Can success be postulated in terms of the creation of a democratic Iraq? That approach certainly has its vocal advocates. But it is an increasingly difficult position to defend. On the contrary, it is arguable that democracy as it is understood in the United States is simply not the highest priority of the ordinary Iraqi. What Iraqis, like most people, desperately seek is stability, preferably coupled with certain freedoms--to pray, to earn a living, to live in peace. Elections, however successfully carried out, do not guarantee those freedoms, nor do democratic structures.

Iraq's post-election experience demonstrates that reality--one that is particularly difficult for Americans to swallow, convinced as they are of the superiority of their own form of government. Iraq's seemingly never-ending violence, whether it is termed a civil war, or, more euphemistically, "sectarian strife", has created a sense of instability, insecurity and raw fear, for all but those Kurds living in Kurdistan. Democracy in this environment is nothing more than a sorry catch-phrase.

Indeed, the recent coup in Thailand demonstrates that even military rule can be preferable to democratic structures. The coup has been welcomed by all strata of Thai society, from the king to most ordinary of Thais. In harsh contradistinction to the democracy of Thaksin Shinawatra--the businessman for whom, it seems, even billions were...