Iraq for Iraqis

This editorial appeared in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times:

As the United States prepared to invade Iraq in 2003, then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell famously warned that "if you break it, you own it." In many ways, the U.S. did break Iraq, ousting Saddam Hussein's quarter-century regime without ensuring that a stable government would take its place. That ushered in a bloody, six-year occupation that cost the lives of more than 4,300 U.S. troops and nearly $700 billion. Americans will always bear responsibility for this misbegotten war of choice, but now, at last, the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities marks the beginning of the country's return to its rightful owners -- Iraqis.

Iraq's future depends on a political reconciliation that six years of experience tells us can only be accomplished by Iraqis. The United States can encourage a diverse, democratic leadership, but it cannot mandate or impose such a government. The U.S. has a moral obligation to help professionalize the Iraqi military and build up the country's civilian institutions. But now it is up to Iraqis to decide whether they want to hold free and fair elections and to pass a law to share the country's oil wealth equitably among its communities. There is plenty of resentment and fear to fuel continued violence and revenge. Or, the once-repressed people of Iraq can opt for peaceful coexistence and stability. Although we broke it, they own it now.