Editorial: Joy runs headlong into reality

Friday, April 11, 2003 | 9:10 a.m.

There was little doubt from the outset that the United States would win the war in Iraq. Still, it was difficult to foresee when the war began three weeks ago that the military campaign would be this successful so soon. The joy of liberation seen on the faces of so many Iraqis in the past few days is but one indication that the cause we have been fighting for is just. On Wednesday jubilant Iraqis, with U.S. military assistance, toppled a statue of Saddam Hussein in the heart of Baghdad. The symbolism of that defiant act can't be overstated. But we shouldn't get too carried away with what, for the time being, is the war's signature moment. There still are fierce pockets of resistance in the city and in other parts of the country.

Even once Iraq's military forces have been vanquished, there could be attacks from terrorists for years. Thursday's suicide bombing in Baghdad, an attack that injured four Marines, is what we can come to expect. There also could be a long period of civil unrest as warring religious and ethnic factions try to settle old scores or fight for power. Simmering hatred likely was responsible as two Shiite Muslim clerics were hacked to death on Thursday. One of the clerics murdered was an exile who had just returned to Iraq and had sought the support of Iraqis for U.S. troops. Not only does civil order have to be restored quickly by the United States and Britain, but we must also move quickly to avert a humanitarian disaster by getting aid to impoverished Iraqis who are low on food and water.

The situation in Iraq inevitably will get both uglier and better. The American people should prepare themselves for a long-term commitment to the Iraqi people. The question always has been, once military victory is at hand, whether the United States is ready for the harder task of rebuilding Iraq. That answer won't come in a matter of weeks. It will take much longer before we start to get a real sense of just how well we've done -- and whether our military victory will translate into freedom and stability for Iraq and the Mideast.