The follow your dreams thing is really important because so many people are railroaded into taking other paths by their family their friends people who should be supportive going 'What are you talking about?' Even just seemingly regular career paths but if it's not what people expect for you they kind of react funny.
In the case of Iraq notwithstanding the violence there at the moment the very fact that a hideous regime - responsible for genocide for the use of chemical and biological weapons aggression against two neighbors - has been removed in itself is a positive development.