Looking on the bright side.

[robinturner]

Now war seems inevitable, it's time to sit back, take stock, and maybe look at the positive side. The possible negative consequences of war are to obvious to be worth mentioning, but it's worth contemplating what the world could gain from this mess.

1. It is just possible that in the end Bush and Blair's promises of a new, democratic, peaceful and prsoperous Iraq rising from the ashes will come true. I wouldn't count on it, and I don't think it makes the war legitimate ("Hi, we're going to invade your country to give you a better political system and raise your standard of living!") but it would be a major compensation, not just for the Iraqis, but for the region as a whole.
2. The rifts in international institutions caused by American and British arrogance (plus, to be fair, French opportunism and bloody-mindedness) might open a serious debate on the role of those institutions, notably the UN, and how they can function in a world dominated militarily and economically by the USA. It is not that Europe and America can't be friends; it is more that America needs to be made to realise that its idea of a "friend" needs revising considerably. A more responsible role for Russia seems to be one of the unexpected side-effects of te current crisis.
3. Americans are waking up to the misdeeds of this and previous administrations. The prospect of war made a lot of people do some serious personal research, and they didn't like what they found: US support for Islamic fundamentalism and repressive regimes, electoral fraud, criminal negligence in the lead up to September 11th, erosion of civil liberties and a piling of lies upon incompetence. An impeachment is too much to hope for, but some soul-searching is inevitable.
4. Most importantly, Bush and Blair have to be thanked for creating a new entity, the world public. We saw the beginnings of this phenomenon with the anti-globalisation protests, but they were still the work of a small sector of the left. Now there is almost a counter-coalition formed of millions of people from all countries and walks of life. They might not have stopped the war, but they have shown that it is not only domestic public opinion that politicians have to look out for. This time, the protests were spontaneous and largely unco-ordinated, but in the future, world public opinion will be more organised, articulate and powerful.