Rice says Iraq war better than Saddam

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday that even in hindsight, Iraq's Saddam Hussein had to go, to further stability in the Middle East.

Rice said on CBS' "Sunday Morning" that Saddam brutalized his own citizens and long had unwelcome ambitions in the region, as was illustrated in the invasion of Kuwait that led up to the first Gulf War under President George H.W. Bush.

"I know that the Middle East with Saddam Hussein in its center was never going to be a Middle East that was going to change in a way that will sustain American interests and values and security," Rice said.

Rice, who served in the George W. Bush administration for two terms, said despite its painful birth, the post-Saddam Iraq was slowly making progress toward a stable civilian government that will some day validate the president's decision to invade in 2003.

"Now you have a place that's trying to build a decent life for its people, a democratic way of life," Rice said. "Yes, it's hard, but it is a lot better than having Saddam Hussein in power. I'll defend the Iraq that's there any day compared to that one."