War in Iraq was worth the cost in human lives

The US has withdrawn its last combat troops from Iraq. Retired British General Sir Graeme Lamb says the war was worth its victims in the conservative daily The Times: "What if we had done nothing? From where I stood, Iraq would have continued to decline, rapidly becoming a failed state. This would have resulted in its people, its spiritual leadership and its natural resources being caught in a far bloodier maelstrom of conflicting interests within the region. To have done nothing would, I believe, have seen us at some point forced into a situation far more dangerous and beyond control. ... So was it worth it collectively? It was not without great cost in blood and treasure. But this nation has, with its coalition partners and the Iraqi Armed Forces and civilians, delivered to the Iraqi people the freedom to choose. That simple right of choice is a most worthy aim."

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