In the hours immediately after the start of the war in Iraq, America was transfixed by live shots of explosions in the night in downtown Baghdad; blurry, satellite-transmitted images of U.S. tanks rumbling across the Iraqi desert; and reporters speaking excitedly to their videophones. The accounts of military heroics that followed, including the dramatic rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch, kept viewers glued to their television screens.
But after the giant statue of Saddam Hussein was yanked to the ground in downtown Baghdad, the masses changed the channel. The U.S. had accomplished its goal of ousting its longtime nemesis. Operation Iraqi Freedom was complete and a success — right?
Not quite. The most difficult challenge for U.S.-led forces in Iraq actually lies ahead as they seek to rebuild a country that was defined for decades by a ruthless and repressive regime. So far, efforts to construct a safe, secure and democratic Iraq have achieved little notable success.
What was once a police state has quickly fallen into near anarchy, according to numerous media reports from Iraq. After dark, gangs of looters roam the streets, terrorizing citizens and stealing virtually anything they can get their hands on. Even in broad daylight, carjackings and petty crimes are common.
During the hours immediately after it became apparent that Saddam was on the run, the looting had a celebratory tone as entire families carted off computers, televisions and other valuable objects from the offices where their government oppressors once operated.
In the weeks since, the looting has continued, but not just in the offices where Saddam Hussein's cronies ruled. Schools, universities, hospitals, and many other important facilities have been gutted or vandalized, some so badly that their ability to function has been seriously impaired.
The lack of order has begun to affect the way Iraqis view the American forces who now occupy their country. Gratitude for ousting Saddam is fading into resentment that basic services such as electricity still suffer intermittent outages.
But the weeks since the fall of Saddam have also provided graphic and horrifying evidence of just how brutal his regime truly was. Elaborate jails where prisoners were held and tortured for years have been discovered. A mass grave containing perhaps as many as 10,000 bodies of those who rebelled against Saddam in 1991 was found 55 miles south of Baghdad on May 14. Another such grave — this one supposedly containing the bodies of 600 Kuwaitis taken hostage and killed by Iraqi forces in 1991 — was found on Friday in a town northwest of Baghdad.
While there may be mayhem in Iraq, there is also a newfound right to free expression. And it's a right Iraqis appear fully prepared to use to complain about their new rulers.
WOMD MIA
Disarming Iraq of its supposed stashes of weapons of mass destruction (WOMD) was the primary justification the Bush administration gave for war in Iraq.
"The dictator of Iraq and his weapons of mass destruction are a threat to the security of free nations," President Bush said March 16, just three days before the invasion of Iraq began.
But more than seven weeks after the end of hostilities, no stock of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons has been located.
A report in The Washington Post on Sunday detailed the futile, at times even comical, efforts of the Army's 75th Exploitation Task Force, which has been searching for weapons of mass destruction for nine weeks. The troops have "dug up a playground, raided a distillery, seized a research paper from a failing graduate student and laid bare a swimming pool where an underground chemical weapons stash was supposed to be," but found no solid evidence of WOMD, according to the report.
For its part, the administration maintains that such weapons will eventually be discovered. It points out that Iraq is a land mass the size of California and that there are literally millions of places WOMD could be stored.
On the other hand, the administration appears to be downplaying the overall importance of locating such weapons. Instead, it emphasizes its accomplishment in ousting Saddam from power.
During his May 1 address to the nation from aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier announcing the end of combat operations in Iraq, President Bush made only one passing reference to the hunt for weapons of mass destruction.
And on Sunday, the British foreign secretary told the BBC that finding the weapons was not "crucially important."
Terrorism: A Diminished Threat?
Finally, there is the issue of global terrorism. In making the case for the war in Iraq, the Bush administration stressed that Saddam Hussein was supporting and harboring al Qaeda sympathizers. Removing Saddam would reduce the threat of terrorist attacks.
Opponents of the war argued that an invasion would inflame anti-American sentiment throughout the Muslim world and provoke further terrorism.
We may never know which side was right. But in just the past two weeks, 75 people, including eight Americans, have been killed in terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia and Morocco. In both cases, the perpetrators were believed to have had ties to al Qaeda. It appears Osama bin Laden's network remains capable of wreaking havoc when it chooses.
The American Public: Still Supportive
The looting, the lack of WOMD and the continuing terrorist attacks appear to be making little impact on the way Americans view the U.S. military operations in the Gulf.
In a recent poll conducted by the The New York Times and CBS, 56 percent of respondents said that Operation Iraqi Freedom was worthwhile even "if the United States and its allies never find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."
Similarly, when asked, "If Saddam Hussein is not captured or killed, then do you think the United States will have won the war in Iraq, or not?" 56 percent said the U.S. will have won the war.
It seems that a small majority of Americans feels that the liberation of the Iraqi people from the hands of Saddam Hussein trumps all other news out of the Gulf in the last month.
Or, perhaps Americans simply changed the channel from news on Iraq after that statue of Saddam came crashing to the ground May 9 and haven't bothered to click back since.
For the very latest developments on Iraq, check out CBSNews.com.
