RateItAll: The Opinion Network

As soon as the last marine leaves Irag, the place shall implode into a frenzy of killing, just like the good old days.

The factions are just too far apart. I cannot see how gross failure of the country is not inevitable.

There is a sizable chance that after the withdrawl of US troops by the end of 2006 or in 2007 an organized Sunni minority could disrupt the peace and throw the country into civil war. This would be a sad event but would not change the virtue in our actions nor should it change the quest for the Kurds and Shi's to fight for freedom. There is also a chance the devolved institutions could break down or the rule of law could deteriorate leading to tyranny by the Shiites. But let us hope the peace and freedom rule the day. As of now Iraqi citizens are voting freely and not being ruled by a sadistic madman . ******Update, Iraq is currently at an extremely tenuous point. The terrorist insurgents have amped up the violence over the past few weeks bombing children waiting for classes, Muslims going to mosque, and new Iraqi police and security patrolmen. Unfortunately most of the insurgents are not Iraqi's but foreign nationals who have chosen Iraq as their battlefield. So I ask, if a democratic Iraq is no huge deal why are the terrorists fighting so intensely? The reality is that Iraq is a huge deal! And the terrorists are aware. Unfortunately we have not been very successful in sealing off Iraq's expansive borders and terrorists are pouring in from Iran and Syria. If the terrorist insurgents are successful in pulling out all the stops before agreements can be met on a new Iraqi Constitution the nation could succumb to civil war or total disarray sooner than later. It is imperative therefore that we intensify our efforts, assist in the process and maintain stability that best we can until Iraqi's can agree to a constitution and can maintain the peace on their own. A democratic Iraq is our goal- it is absolutely necessary we do everything we can to ensure victory.

As suggested by Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton...

You wait and see.

Well, the human need for freedom led to a civil war here too once upon a time. Some things are worth fighting for.

One of the factors keeping the US from backing out of harm's way in Iraq is the immense power struggle that is going on there currently. Though I hope it can be avoidable, I fear people will be all too willing to kill each other over differences in ideology -- with government leaders and forces who don't share their ideals being the chief targets. If you doubt that's true, ask yourself why candidates names were kept a secret to voters during the election.

Oh, I don't know. Germany didn't turn out too badly, given their circumstances at the end of WWII. Kosovo isn't doing so badly, I suppose. It's a bit early to declare Afghanistan a diplomatic disaster. I think it depends on the decisions made by the US President and whether the indigenous people exhibit the will to govern themselves. A US occupation (as you call it) is usually not the first choice of the US, either, but it usually beats the alternatives. I wonder if the citizens of Darfur would be so cynical about the benefit of a US occupation there, last year.

Duh. Raise your hand if you remember the last time a U.S. occupation ended well. (Yes, Japan, I know. . .slightly different circumstances.) American occupations have a notorious failure rate. . .and we have a history of rigging elections. (see Chilean history or any Latin or South American U.S. foreign-policy disaster.)

The election isn't going to led to a Civil War, American actions in the region are going to. America is the wedge that is going to set the Sunnis off, which it already has.

maybe they can take care of their own agendas now, NOT!

A distinct possibility. Ironically enough, the only thing that will prevent such an outcome is a revived sense of nationalism among Iraqis. At this point, it's simply too early to speculate.

Potentially, this is possible. If we ignore our responsibilities to be there for the Iraqi people, it probably will happen. We will not forget that it is clear that most Iraqi's want a democratic form of government. Hopefully, we leave there within two years. Our responsibility as allies for Iraq will last for many years.

Ideally Iraq should be split up in to three states, Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish. Depending on the degree by which they would be willing to cooperate, they could unite to foster their common interests and either all have sovereignty respectively or, even better, as one. Chances are, this wont happen, and from the results of the election, we will likely see a situation that could develop into civil war, but like Lance said, we hope that wont be the case.