There was a pro-democracy movement in Iraq following the 1991 war. It was squashed by Saddam (with the use of chemical agents and helicopter gunships). Then President Bush (pere) did not intervene as he had decided to limit the role of the allies to removing the Iraqi army from Kuwait (quote)
You’re clearly unaware that US led sanctions from 1991 was responsible for the death of so many Iraqi children, that the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator, Dennis Halliday resigned characterising them as ‘genocide.’
“And above all, my innate sense of justice was and still is outraged by the violence that UN sanctions have brought upon, and continues to bring upon, the lives of children, families – the extended families, the loved ones of Iraq. There is no justification for killing the young people of Iraq, nor the aged, nor the sick, nor the rich, nor the poor.”
As for the consequences resulting from the US led invasion of 2003?
Well, two million Iraqis remain abroad as refugees from seven years of anarchy, with another 2 million internally displaced.
Ironically, almost all Iraqi Christians (safe under Saddam) have had to flee.
Under western rule, production of oil – Iraq's staple product – is still below its pre-invasion level, and homes enjoy fewer hours of electricity.
Some 200,000 civilians are estimated to have lost their lives from occupation-related violence.
The country has no stable government, minimal reconstruction, and daily deaths and kidnappings.
Endemic corruption is fuelled by unaudited aid.
Increasing Islamist rule leaves most women less, not more, liberated.
And all this is the result of a mind-boggling $751bn of US expenditure - surely the worst value for money in the history of modern diplomacy.