I keep reading and hearing that the U.S. will stay in Iraq until that country has adopted a “stable and democratic” government. Has everybody forgotten that governments “derive their just powers by consent of the governed”? If we “impose” democracy, then it can’t be democracy; it will be something else. So let’s make up our minds. If we’re serious about democracy, we must let them choose their own government, even if we don’t like it. If not, let’s admit it and tell the world we’ve decided to be an imperial power and plan to stay in Iraq forever.

Everett