I know I'm taking an unpopular position, but I need to make clear my thoughts on this issue.
There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein's ouster is for the best. While one can easily discount his having WMDs, surely you can't argue that his regime was better than what governs those people now.
We often hear the worst about the occupation, but in truth there is significant progress, however hard to believe. Most of the advancements take place outside the Sunni Triangle, in the northern and southern parts of the country. Within the Triangle itself is the main opposition to Saddam's dethroning and the subsequent military rule. And why not? These people, the Sunnis, are a minority in the whole of Iraq, but managed favorable attention by Sunni Saddam and his pro-Sunni Baathist regime.
The Shiites have strength in numbers, but for obvious reasons could not vote Hussein out of power. For their existence as the true majority in Iraq they earned beatings, killings, and kidnappings. Repression, in a word. It is not intellectually reasonable for us or anyone else to argue the people there, especially the Shiites, are worse off. Polls reflect this reality. Of course, some like to say those killed by the US-led war can't vouch for themselves in polls. But, in truth, most those killed were military personel- and in war killing the opposition force is not terribly wrong. Some innocent Iraqis were also killed but that is also expected in war. Imagine Hussein were still in power- how many would have been executed between the fall of his regime and now? Many, I think. America's intervention, in the long run, will likely prove to have saved lives.
The premise for this war was flawed and perhaps forged. Still, releasing these people from political and physical bondage and helping them form their own government might transform the Middle East for the better.
On a final note, a solution has to be made to relax Sunni opposition. They're made not so much because the United States toppled Saddam, but, I think, because the United States ruined their brutal rule over a country they would otherwise have no power over. It would be a mistake to appease them in any way. If Iraq is to be a Democracy, they'll have to get used to the idea of being regularly outvoted or they'll have to adapt to the situation and join with the Shiites. The filthy rats that butchered those Americans ought to be rounded up and taken into custody or killed. Most people in Fulluja, if we are to believe the reports, were themselves shocked by the bloody massacre. In fact, the whole town, while certainly opposed to occupation, was moving along rather well (considering the situation) before some rebels turned violent.