The Grand Flip-Flop

Iraq war supporter Fraser Nelson writes in The Scotsman about the Republicans' about-face on the quagmire in Iraq.

At the Republican National Convention, there is now no trace of enthusiasm for the original mission: making Iraq into a democratic beacon which shines into the political darkness of its neighbour states.

Across America, opinion polls detect two main attitudes to the war: opposition and ambivalence. Mr Bush’s supporters say simply that "he had to do something" after the 11 September terrorist attacks: his enemies say the war was "nothing but a lie".

The Republicans circulating in parties around New York seem united in agreeing that the mission is now to get out of Iraq as soon as is decently possible. The overwhelming objective is to take the word "Iraq" out of the newspaper headlines.

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Meanwhile, the Bush administration seems worryingly content to paper over the cracks which now threaten to split Iraq. The inadequate number of troops (which explains the chaos in Iraq) will be reduced even further after the election goes ahead.

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As things stand now, Iraq has little chance of becoming a successful democracy in four months’ time. The notion of being governed by someone you personally voted against and despise is hard enough for Manhattan to grasp, let alone Baghdad.

The tradition of pluralism and dissent - the condition for democracy - is in its infancy in Iraq. The rule of law and property rights are just a few of the foundations which should be set down first, before the democratic house is built.

This process takes years, and America, whose death toll is 974 [978] soldiers and rising daily, is losing patience with a starry-eyed project for improving Iraqi lives when so many of its own people are in poverty and lack basic health insurance.

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So the justification of the invasion will lie in whether, after 30 January, Iraq democratises - or slips into anarchy. I desperately hope it is the former. But if it’s the latter, I will have to accept that I was wrong to support this war.