Iraq's new descent into tyranny.(AHEAD OF THE CURVE)(Correction Notice)

ITEM: The New York Times editorial for August 23 under the headline "Iraq's Unsettling Constitution" acknowledged: "The draft constitution given to Iraq's national assembly last night does little to advance the prospect for a united and peaceful Iraq.... Americans continue dying in Iraq, but their mission creeps steadily downward. The nonexistent weapons of mass destruction dropped out of the picture long ago. Now the United States seems ready to walk away from its fine words about helping the Iraqis create a beacon of freedom, harmony and democracy for the Middle East. All that remains to be seen is whether the White House has become so desperate for an excuse to declare victory that it will settle for an Iranian-style Shiite theocracy."

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: The Establishment is gradually acknowledging the fact that the Iraq war, occupation, and newly proposed Iraqi Constitution represent a step backward for Iraq--perhaps even from Saddam Hussein's horrible tyranny.

But who could have predicted that Iraq would become an Iranian-style Shiite theocracy back in 2003 when the United States invaded Iraq?

THE NEW AMERICAN did, reporting in its May 19, 2003 issue: "The condition of Christians under Saddam's reign illustrates that while that regime was brutal and highly authoritarian, it was not 'totalitarian,' in the full sense of the term. Saddam and his henchmen devised perversely inventive ways to torture and kill political dissidents, and the exalted likeness of the 'Dear Leader' was pervasive, but Saddam did little to disrupt, reform, or destroy private institutions and customs. Avak Asadourian, Iraq's Armenian archbishop, told the April 21st Christian Science Monitor that 'we enjoyed total religious freedom and there was no religious discrimination' under Saddam's rule. This may change if Iranian-style revolutionary Islam takes root in Iraq--a development that may be unavoidable if 'democracy' is planted there at bayonet point." (Emphasis added.)

This prediction, sadly, is coming true, just as other predictions in the same article, entitled "What Did We Win?," have already come true. We reported: "Our military victory has left our nation saddled with the prospect of a long, bloody, expensive occupation, and an escalating terrorist threat."

The record number of American soldiers killed in terrorist incidents in Iraq during the month of August is bloody testimony to the accuracy of THE NEW AMERICAN'S assessment.

Of course, the staff of THE NEW AMERICAN needed no gift of prophecy to make the predictions it did on Iraq. The results are the natural end of an unprovoked ...