Yep. We helped Sadam Hussein and Iraq back in the 80’s. Yep, we supplied them with weapons. Does that really matter now? Jeff Jacoby says emphatically **no**.

Are American presidents forever barred from denouncing a vicious oppressor and leading a war against him because some of their predecessors neglected to do so?

There is no surer recipe for increasing evil in the world than the doctrine that evil may be confronted only by those who have never failed to do good. Our embrace of Saddam in the ’80s was shameful. How much greater our shame would be if we refused to destroy him now.

Very true. Why don’t people understand this?