Iraqis still ask if U.S. invasion was worth it

By Dean Yates

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Five years after U.S. and British forces swept into Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein, many Iraqis are asking if the violence and upheaval that turned their lives upside down was worth it.

The human cost is staggering -- anywhere between 90,000 and 1 million Iraqi civilians killed, according to various estimates; nearly 4,000 U.S. soldiers dead; while 4 million Iraqis are displaced.

On the bright side, Iraqis are rid of one of the 20th century's most ruthless dictators. They held free elections and have a new constitution.

For Iraqis, deciding if the invasion was worth the sacrifice depends partly on their sect and ethnicity and where they live.

Saddam, a Sunni Arab, persecuted the country's majority Shi'ites and Kurds. Shi'ites now hold the reins of power while once-dominant Sunni Arabs have become marginalized.

In Baghdad, epicenter of a sectarian war in 2006 and 2007 that nearly tore Iraq apart, people long for the safe streets of Saddam's era. In the Shi'ite south, they no longer fear Saddam's henchmen, but rival Shi'ite factions competing for influence.

In the north, the economy of largely autonomous Kurdistan is flourishing in a region that Kurds call "the other Iraq".

Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari, a Kurd, said Iraq was moving in the right direction. Those who felt the invasion was a mistake should remember Saddam's atrocities, he said.

Zebari said proof that a majority of Iraqis supported the overthrow of Saddam was their participation in 2005 elections.

"The brutality of Saddam's regime deformed society in many ways so we have to be patient," he told Reuters in an interview.

"Compared to the experience of other nations I think we have done very well. But yes, it has been very, very costly."

Um Khalid, a 40-year old Baghdad hairdresser, said violence was so random that no one knew if they would be its next victim.

"No, no, no. What happened was not worth it. Those who say things are better are lying," she said.

KILLED OVER THEIR NAME

Many Iraqis vividly recall the chaotic months after the invasion on March 20, 2003, symbolized by the toppling of a big statue of Saddam in central Baghdad.