Policing the world for First Freedoms.

• Author: Howell, Llewellyn D.
• Position: World Watcher

LET'S PRETEND THAT THE U.S. AND GREAT BRITAIN invaded Iraq in order to rid the country of Saddam Hussein and bring in a government that we decided was "representative" of the people and granted freedom. We agree to cast aside all other arguments about (unfound) Weapons of Mass Destruction, (unfound) close connections with Al Qaeda and the attacks of 9/11, (unfound) imminent dangers of attack on its neighbors and even the U.S., and/or (found) control of Iraq's oil.

Let's just say that the goal of the U.S.-led invasion was to topple a despot who had led his tribe in killing tens of thousands of people from other tribes and cultures that happened to be inside the artificial boundaries of a European-designed nation state. We also can presume that there is a global strategy involved here. Invading a country without provocation (having a despotic government hasn't been considered a provocation in the past; many have been our allies) is a big step in American foreign policy.

If one of our long-term goals is to rid the world of despotism on the way to freedom and democracy, and it surely is, then there would have to be a target list. Yet, there is always the question of "Where do we start?" I have long argued that the First Freedom is the freedom to eat (i.e., to survive) and, the second, to procreate. Freedom from fear also rates as a critical element in constructing what we want to regard as freedom for an individual. This may qualify as the third freedom. Political rights and civil liberties come after the human needs that are biologically determined, and although they are important in the ultimate concept of a human life, they are still fourth in the chain of freedoms.

We don't know if the Bush Administration had or has a list of those countries that are least free, using any list of freedoms. However, if the objective in the ongoing Iraqi war is to provide freedom, we hope so. We do know what such a list would look like. Freedom House provides, in several parts, such a list.

Based in Washington, D.C., Freedom House is a nonprofit organization that sees itself as a voice for democracy around the world. Founded nearly 60 years ago by Eleanor Roosevelt, Wendell Willkie, and others, it is a nonpartisan proponent of democratic values that opposes dictatorships of the right and the left. The organization clearly has a Western bias toward what constitutes freedom, but has been systematic in assessing and measuring exactly the same phenomena as those...