It's not about 'protecting Iraq' as you put it - it's about avoiding yet more unnecessary bloodshed and loss of civilian life. It was the extremists who 'celebrated' Sept 11 by dancing in the streets, not any particular nation as a whole. The Iraqi's weren't responsible for the tragedy anyway - it was Bin Laden and Al Queda - a terrorist network, not a nation or a country. If we were talking about protecting terrorists, then yes - that would be hypocritical.
