Skeptics reply that it would be wrong to link the Iraq War to the “Arab Spring,” because events in Tunisia and Egypt in 2011 had their own origins, while President George W. Bush’s actions and rhetoric discredited, rather than advanced, the cause of democracy in the region. Removing Saddam was important, but Iraq is now a violent place governed by a sectarian group, with one corruption index ranking it 169th out of 174 countries.
怀疑者反驳说伊拉克战争和“阿拉伯之春”两者间没有必然的联系，因为2011年的突尼斯和埃及事件自有其缘由，而乔治·W·布什总统的言论和行动不仅没有推进，反而破坏了该地区的民主声誉。推翻萨达姆的确是重要结果，但伊拉克现已成为宗派团体治下的暴力之地，其腐败指数在194个国家中排名第169。