Three University of Chicago professors -- Steven Davis, Kevin Murphy and Robert Topel -- recently published a study concluding that Iraqi income per person has fallen by at least 75 percent since Saddam Hussein came to power in 1979. One chunk of that decline is due to United Nations sanctions imposed after the 1991 war. (Those would have been lifted had Saddam kept his promise to disarm.) But dictatorial policies were the main contributor to Iraq's transition from upward mobility to poverty.

For reasons of personal liberty and societal progress, many Iraqis have preferred a month of danger to more decades of Saddam & Sons. But most liberal clergymen in the United States would rather preserve an ungodly status quo than work to deliver people from evil. Some talk about having a prophetic voice, and then try to turn God into the stereotypical conservative intent on maintaining present conditions and avoiding risks.

Of course, regime change will hurt many people, and not all of them are French. Saddam since 1991 apparently built 50 new palaces for himself and his entourage, at a cost of $2.5 billion. Those who specialized in installing gold faucets in those lavish digs will have to look elsewhere for work, as will Saddam's "internal security" spies. But those willing to risk much to care for those in need will rejoice.