Tom has written a clever and interesting polemic about the war in Iraq. But it depends on the (obscene) idea that Iraqis somehow consented to Saddam's rule.

A woman may be in an abusive and oppressive marriage with a man who inhibits her freedoms to a significant degree, but she may also be in love with him, in spite of how he treats her, being psychologically bound to him.

This description may fit Germany under Hitler. It might apply to modern Russia under Putin, Pakistan under Musharraf, or China under Communist rule. It most definitely does not apply to Iraq under Saddam. The aftermath of the war has left no doubt that the Iraqis hated Saddam in the highest degree. Saddam's rule began with a numerous high-profile murders to signal what would happen to anyone who resisted.

If I were an Iraqi who had stayed quiet during Saddam's rule because I didn't want to get tortured, killed and thrown in a mass grave and jeopardize the lives of my family members, and if Tom told me that by refraining from this empty suicidal gesture I had "consented" to Saddam's rule, I would conclude that Tom had consented to having my clenched fist ram its indignant way through his face.