Tracy;

Problems to over come in Iraq before a democratic government can be installed:

1. There are several religious groups that hate each other.
2. There are several ethnic groups that hate each other.
3. Iraq is not accustomed to democratic government so this will be a “trial and error” approach to government.
4. Who will represent what group?

The Kurds in northern Iraq have been working towards a democratic system of government for about the last 10 years. They had many problems but are doing better at this point.

Having a Sheik in charge of a city may be good for some degree of government in the short term, as the British have done in southern Iraq. However, given that there are tribes of individuals with leaders, religious leaders and others who could fill the vacuum of politicians at this point, it remains to be seen how all this will work out.

In South Vietnam they had democratic elections with an illiteracy rate of 46.5% of the voters. The average person had never been more than 10 miles from where they had been born. Iraq is very different. Democracy may sound like the answer to all of Iraq’s problems but I think the problems have not yet begun.

Tom


>All of this "hurry up and get started on the new government and bringing in humanitarian aid and get out of there so Iraq can make its own choices, etc" is getting tiresome. Has the entire world forgotten that fighting is still taking place in Iraq? Coalition troops as well as Iraqis are still dying. It is still not safe everywhere (and won't be for sometime soon) to get humanitarian aid in everywhere nor to start setting up a government for all of Iraq... such impatience! I guess everyone thought that once Saddam's statue was toppled that everyone would just put their weapons down.
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>>http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=988&e=1&cid=1514&u=/afp/iraq_war_france_chirac
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>>"By the way, can we still have those oil contracts?" <vbg>