Despite the shoe throwers, the stone throwers, the bombs, and militias, British troops will begin leaving Iraq in May 2009. Bush forged a coalition of the willing to oust dictator Saddam Hussein. If the U.S. had stayed the course in Somalia, we might have had less of an issue with pirates around the Horn of Africa, but Iraq has made remarkable progress. If a commitment to democracy continues, Iraq could have an historically positive effect in the region.