Quote:
Originally posted by bilmore
If the elections happen, with high turnout and a clean result, such that it is clear that the will of the Iraqi people has been expressed, how can that be a bad thing? Are you speaking of the protracted fighting being the bad, or something else?
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If the tooth fairy stops the ongoing civil war and leaves a fully functioning parliamentary democracy under the collective pillow of the Kurds, Shi'ites and Sunnis, that will not be a bad thing.
The differences between Ukraine and Iraq are massive, and do not suggest that our enterprise in Iraq is likely to end well. For example, the forces of democracy in Ukraine appear to have drawn considerable strength from nationalism, and from the desire to have a meddling outside power play less of a role in the country's domestic affairs. We've managed to get those forces working against us in Iraq. Ukraine finds itself in a situation where the use of violence to subvert democracy is so unaccepted that it can only be used minimally (e.g., covert dioxin poisoning). In Iraq, there is much less agreement on the ground rules, if you will.
Not that we're likely to get there anytime soon, but it takes a lot more than a well-run election to find yourself in a durable democracy.
