Obey says it will still be a long time before Iraq will be a peaceful democracy functioning on its own.
The reason for that he says are the Sunnis who have ruled Iraq for several decades and are a group that would not support democracy.
"And when they hear us talk about democracy, the Sunnis say a-ha! That means we're gonna be in the minority," said Obey, "that's not good deal for us and they're going to look for ways to disrupt things."
As far as dealing with Saddam, Obey says he's happy the U.S. has caught him and now hopes he's tried in an appropriate manner.
"I personally think it would be a mistake if we have the Iraqis try him, because that would be seen by a lot of people as America being behind the curtain trying to manipulate events," said Obey.
Obey says Saddam should be tried by an international forum.
