A statement that I have never believed.
#1. Saddam was a bad man.
#2. The Iraqi people are better off with someone who is BETTER than Saddam.
(This also means that the Iraqi people would be WORSE off with someone WORSE than Saddam.)
#3. There are WORSE people than Saddam who could be in charge of Iraq.
#4. If we put "elections" in Iraq, the populace MIGHT elect someone WORSE than Saddam.
#5. If we put someone in charge of Iraq, that person might be WORSE than Saddam (remember, we supported Saddam in the past).
And so on and so forth.
Now, as for whether any individual Iraqi will tell you that "they" are better off without Saddam depends TOTALLY upon the personal values of that individual Iraqi, at this moment.