The fact that Maliki thinks the war was good for Iraqis doesn’t mean it was 
good for America, needless to say, but Obama fans eager to exploit the timetable 
bit may want to mull this before baptizing his judgments with Absolute Moral 
Authority: 
 
SPIEGEL: Mr. Prime Minister, the war and its consequences have cost more than 
100,000 lives and caused great suffering in your country. Saddam Hussein and his 
regime are now part of the past. Was all of this worth the price?
 Maliki: The casualties have been and continue to be enormous. But anyone who 
was familiar with the dictator’s nature and his intentions knows what could have 
been in store for us instead of this war. Saddam waged wars against Iran and 
Kuwait, and against Iraqis in the north and south of his own country, wars in 
which hundreds of thousands died. And he was capable of instigating even more 
wars. Yes, the casualties are great, but I see our struggle as an enormous 
effort to avoid other such wars in the future.