Here Is One Way Iraq is Better

I continue to believe the Iraq War a disaster -- but I suppose it's not an unmitigated disaster. Here's something that never would have happened under Saddam Hussein:

"The Iraqi prime minister's political opponents demanded Thursday that parliament hold a special session to investigate claims that prisoners have been tortured by his government.

Lawmakers from the Sunni-backed Iraqiya group have seized on the abuse allegations that surfaced last week in a cache of secret U.S. military documents released by online whistle-blower WikiLeaks as evidence that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is unfit to govern. Al-Maliki, meanwhile, has attacked the WikiLeaks release as an attempt to undermine him as he seeks to clench a second term in office."

I don't think this works as justification for the invasion and a seven-year war. But it's nice to see that if torture is still happening in Iraq, at least there's a political opposition to demand accountability. In fact, it would be nice to see that in the United States!