With the execution of Saddam Hussein, the United States has achieved its only achievable target in the Iraq war. The two other declared targets of the United States were, to recover and destroy the weapons of mass destruction which Iraq was reported to have piled up, and to introduce democracy in that country, The first and the most trumpeted one proved to be a complete hoax for the simple reason that Iraq did not have any WMDs, while the other one i.e. institution of democracy has only been realized in the shape of the shaky government of Mr. Nuri al-Maliki which stands on the crutches of the coalition forces.

That the war has been a huge calamity for the Iraqis, no one would disagree, but for the US too it has been a pyrrhic victory, if at all. The cost of the ill-conceived adventure in terms of hum suffering has been stupendous which would haunt America for a long time to come. To date an estimated 600,000 Iraqis have been killed in the American bombings and at their own hands in the suicide attacks. More than 3,000 coalition troops have been lost and thousands others wounded, a figure that had not been even imagined at the start of the invasion.

The worst part of the story is that for all the indications this war is not going to do good to any party.

Unless the United States makes a radical departure from its current policy and comes up with a strategy for the resolution of the Iraq's internal crisis and a phased withdrawal of its forces according to a plan that is acceptable to the major political forces in that country, there would be no end to bloodshed in Iraq. In fact it may have its fall out in the other countries of the region too.

The worst mistake that the US has made in Iraq was to sharpen the sectarian divide. It was a short-sighted policy which now threatens the unity of the Iraqi nation. This may have extremely bad repercussions in the region which may damage long term US interests too.

The one country which is in a win-win situation from the Iraq mess is Israel. Israel had always looked at Iraq as the most potential threat to its aggressive designs. Amongst all the Arab countries, Iraq had been the most advanced in education, science and technology and unlike Egypt the other educationally developed Arab country, it possessed abundant resources in the shape of oil wealth. It was therefore in a position to challenge Israel. Indeed, Iraq under Saddam had achieved significant success in acquiring nuclear technology which led Israel to launch the sneak attack to destroy its Osirak nuclear facility. For Israel the destruction of Iraq's military power and future potential as a result of the American-led invasion has removed a powerful foe for ever.

For the Muslim world, the Iraq mess poses a big collective challenge. Iraq must stay united and the sectarian conflict must end. The three major communities should be enabled to enter into a new understanding for peace and harmony for the unity and integrity of the country. All the Muslim countries, especially the countries of the region, should help in the restoration of peace and normalcy in Iraq.

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