Hanna Arendt and Two Years in Iraq

The very substance of violent action is ruled by the means-end category, whose chief characteristic, if applied to human affairs, has always been that the end is in danger of being overwhelmed by the means which it justifies and which are needed to reach it. Since the end of human action, as distinct from the end products of fabrication can never be reliably predicted, the means used to achieve political goals are more often than not of greater relevance to the future world than the intended goals.
Hanna Arendt. On Violence.

Which is not to say that use of force should be ruled out from the beginning - but that we should take every opportunity to review whether its continued application is for the good and whether the methods we employ remain justified.

In the case of Iraq I think we can feel confident that both of those questions can still be answered in the affirmative. Much good has resulted already, in Iraq and throughout the Middle East. Sure, it was unpredictable, but a firm commitment to supporting the growth of democracy is yielding welcome results.