How do you think Iraq will end?

[southernleftylady]

I mean since we have already had the "end of major combat" delcared.... and the goverment being "turned over to the people of iraq"
what is next?
how will this end?

[TowelBoy]

1. Hopefully...

with Kerry pulling troops out of Iraq.

[southernleftylady]

Like the way you think ... but...

how will iraq be after we pull out?

[charlyvi]

2. Islamic Fundie Govt...

After we've finally pissed the whole country off enough for them to eject us--even the moderates who now think of our presence as the only stabilizing force. They'll reach a point where they would rather face chaos, but their own chaos, than our presence in their country.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. It won't, if * is re-selected.

If Kerry wins, maybe we can get out without a civil war or other disaster. Even so, it won't be easy.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

16. I think civil war is already going on there.....

[Must_B_Free]

4. Genocide - Think Waco texas on a larger scale.

[DrWeird]

5. Years of fighting.

Things only get worse.

[wtmusic]

6. yep, culminating with

a dictator even more determined to get nukes

[DrWeird]

11. that kind of implies...

Saddam was determined to get nukes.

[wtmusic]

12. He was

There is no doubt about it.

http://www.thebulletin.org/issues/1998/so98/so98hamza.html

[DrWeird]

14. Yeah, OK, Colin.

Iraq completely abandoned its nuke development in 1991.

[wtmusic]

17. So what?

Did you read the link?

You think he had a change of heart? Get real.

[istruthfull]

28. Can you name

a countries leader who doesn't want nukes? Not more than a few.

[jimshoes]

7. I expect it to end like the nursery rhyme

Humpty Dumpty...
all the kings horses and all the kings men, couldn't put it back together again. In other words, abject failure. Short of killing most of the Iraqi's we don't stand a snowballs chance of turning them into a western style democracy. That's the optimistic view.

[Sporadicus]

8. If the Neocons Have Their Way

it will be a smooth transition to war with Iran. They're already laying the groundwork with accusations of nuclear weapons development, Iranian fighters already in Iraq, etc. I believe they're just waiting to spring something on us like the Gulf of Tonkin incident to 'justify' going to war with Iran. This has been my prediction of how the 'October Surprise' will be made manifest.

[MichiganVote]

9. End for whom? That seems to me to be the question all have

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. We'll be thrown out and the Iraqis will solve their own problems.

It will likely be messy when we finally get tossed out, something like what happened when we tossed the Brits out. Most people don't know that our birthing pains were very bloody after the Brits cut and run. Bacons Rebellion, Shaw's Rebellion, The Whiskey Rebellion, The Indian Wars (Genocide), The Mexican War (Invasion and Occupation), and finally the bloodiest of all our wars, the civil war.

The chaos in Iraq is caused by our invasion and occupation of their country. Our staying only prolongs the agony. Even if it should develop into civil war after we leave, it will pale compared to our own bloodstained history.

[Gman]

13. American diplomats and soldiers scrambling into helicopters on the embassy

roof while guards at the gates are shoving the locals away.

Seen this movie before.

[catmandu57]

15. WWIII

complete chaos, regional conflicts, hatreds thousands of years old. Iraq itself is on the path to sectionalism. There will be three distinct parts, with their own alliances and problems.
The north belongs to the Kurds, it is oil rich but landlocked, notice though there isn't any reports of trouble in the north, yet.
The Kurds want their own state and will claim a portion of Southern Turkey.
The central, Sunni region hasn't any oil or resources thatr were interested in, but will try to retain control over the oilrich south.
The south is shia, they are a minority and will look to form an alliance with Iran.
The civil war will spread, and envelope the rest of the world in a fight for natural resources. There isn't a good outcome, the best we can hope for is a Kerry victory and diplomacy to rescue us.

[donco6]

18. It will cease to exist

All outside nations will withdraw - US last, claiming Iraqi govt is now stable and able to handle own problems.
Iran will invade from the east and take port cities.
Kurds will wage long-term agitation in north, Iraqi govt will eventually let them have land (too weak to do otherwise)
"Iraq" will be relegated to third-world interior with no resources, no money and only marginal govt.

[Dudley_DUright]

19. In a word

Badly. :-(

[brainshrub]

20. American-funded Iraqi death squads fan the country

and establish another Saddam-like government.

We've done it before, and we are getting ready to do it again... with or without Kerry.

[number6]

21. Badly

....:nuke:

[indepat]

27. My thoughts exactly: No better ending is possible

[kiahzero]

22. "End?" What does that mean, "End?"

[Cat Atomic]

23. Do you mean, "how will US involvement end"?

I expect we'll still have troops in Iraq when your children are old and grey.

[frylock]

24. a little something like this..

[Ladyhawk]

25. Three-way civil war: Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. n/t

[0rganism]

26. With a helluva lot of banging and whimpering

Thanks to shit-for-brains in the whitehouse, there's no way to get anything resembling a modern parliamentarian system going. It would be tough for the BEST people to pull off, for W it's just impossible.

[skygazer]

29. Things like this don't end

That's why it's so important not to start them if it can possibly be helped. The repercussions from this will last for a long, long time no matter who is elected here in November. The Middle East, terribly unstable anyway, is many times more unstable now.

If our troops are pulled out, Iraq will quickly degenerate into even more chaos as groups vie for leadership. It will be bloody, tragic and prolonged. It will cause unrest and chaos in surrounding countries and endanger the world further.

If we stay, I can't see that it will be much better. We'll prop up a puppet government which will be resented by the people of the country who will attempt to overthrow it every chance they get. We'll have to post an Army of occupation there to protect that government, putting our people at risk for untold years.

History doesn't stop - this will have consequences for generations. And I can't see many positive ones.