So Iraq is a total failure - what to do?

Split the country in three.

Call Saddam what you want, but realize that he was at least able to hold the country together, which as we have found out was no easy task. Without a strongman in power, the country needs to be dismantled.

Most people don't realize that even under the Ottoman empire, the country we call Iraq was split into 3 different villayets centered arond Baghdad, Basra and Mosul. Anybody want to guess why? It's no secret the Sunni's, Shiites and Kurds don't get along, and more importantly won't get along. So what is the goal? Why are we spending all this money and shedding all this blood, to hold together a country that was never really a country? The lines were drawn in the sand in the wrong places after The Ottoman Empire dissolved, and now we are left with this mess.

Yugoslavia needed Tito, once Tito was gone - there went Yugoslavia. After some growing pains, you now have separately functioning governments in the former Yugoslavia. Follow the same model, and in 10 years the situation will look much better.

Or we could keep doing what we're doing and expect different results. Definition of insanity, right?

 

How about just leave it for the Iraqis to sort it out? They fight it out among themselves and eventually some faction will get the upperhand - not our problem.

 

How is it not our problem? We broke the damn thing, now we just walk away? No, no - rules are "You break, you buy". It's our mess, because we created it. Should have never gone in there, so now we need to fix our mistake.

 

They've been given a fair chance of democracy and have had multi national investment they could only have dreamed about 5 years ago. They smile at our soldiers one minute and then brick them or shoot at them when their backs are turned. If you bite the hand that feeds expect to go hungry.

 

hmmm i think if iraq is split into 3 then it might have a chance, but as the oil is mostly in the southern ½ and less in the nothren ½, i think a war would start between the 3 parts created, so it would have to be split in a such a way as to give all 3 new states, a fair economic (per person/population) land and sea access, so there is nothing to fight over.
that in my mind would also make iraq less of a threat to other countries and we would have to ensure that they are protected from attack from iran and others.

as to the bolded part, i dont think gassing children counts as keeping the country in order

 

Less so than dropping bombs on their little heads? Lets not forget to look in the mirror, before we pass judgment. As far as the oil that is a problem, although its not quite as you describe. The Kurds in the North would do very well, as would the Shiites in the South. It is the Sunnis that would be left with sand, and so yes, some sort of oil revenue sharing would have to be set up and administered by the UN.

The Kurds would be happy just to have a home, I think they would agree. The Sunnis would have no choice. The tough part would be with the Shiites in the South. They already have the upper hand in the fight to control the oil wealth, they sit on a disproportionate part of it geographically, and they also have the support of Iran. This is where I leave off and the experts would have to take over.

 

it was a test to see what they would do if they had the chance at democracy. they failed, not us. Seems like these people need a strong arm dictator in order to keep them in line.

 

the difference is the type of weapons used and the intended target, you cannot escape the fact that he used gas and intended to gas the children too. we used weapons that are lawful and our intended targets are not women and children, but i admit we are not always perfect.

 

Are you another self-loather? You are using "we" a lot above, how do "you" fit into the "we?" Do you also give al qaida's credit, in Iraq, to "us" too?

 

They already had one - remember?

I fit into "we", based on "my" financing of the war. Where do you think the money comes from? FIT = Federal Income Tax, and I have paid ALOT.

 

Countryboy, you call helping saddam into power, then taking him out a chance for democracy?>

 

Ah, the old "I pay my taxes" shield, so I'm entitled to self-loathe. Got it.

 

Why is anybody that thought (rightfully so) that the war was a mistake a "self-loather"? I don't loathe myself, because I didn't make the decision or support the decision. I loathe George Bush. Call me a "Bush-loather". Actually, better make that a "George Bush- loather".

 

This is why the war was not over two years ago...instead of supporting and following through, people in the US (mostly liberals) have called for our retreat and lack of support.

 

yeah if only the liberals would shut up then the Iraqis would stop fighting immediatly

 

Glad to see I'm not the only sarcastic person in here.

 

accept the failure...

 

but liberals can't shut up. whining is all they have

 

You know that wouldn't happen, however, the victory for dems in the US congress only supported the terrorists, instead of discouraging them. The terrorists know that liberals and democrats are more appeasers than they are fighters...

 

We all know that all of you republicans are real fighters. The tragedy is that you and all your friends suffer from missing balls medical condition, otherwise you would have joined and kicked their butts at once.