布什政府发动伊拉克战争有三个重要的理论依据，其中只有一条似乎还站得住脚：那就是对中东进行民主化改造，并以此来削弱恐怖分子的根基。
The Bush administration provided three major rationales for going to war in Iraq. Only one remains at all credible: the need to transform the Middle East through democratization and thereby undercut support for terrorists.