paulsol wrote:
Sounds like a hell of a lot of firepower for the task of rebuilding a country
I think the general plan is to have Iraq rebuild itself. Much less costly this way(to America). A democratic president will push for this. Also, major coporations(not just oil companies mind you) have already expressed a urge to develope in a democratic Iraq.
In business location is everything and Iraq just happens to be in the smack dab middle of a war. War, history will teach you, is good for business. Not only is it in the middle of all that, but it is pretty much in the middle of Asia and Africa. The transportation industries stand to make a ton of money. As with communications, and oil industries severally. Most business look at a democratic Iraq as a huge cash register waiting to be cashed out.
Which won't be far from the truth, as soon as the dust settles from all of this there will be a permanent military base or two there, I guarentee it. Military Base = lots of money spent. If this becomes a success(which I believe it inexorably will) Iraq will be quite the economic monster.
Another beauty of a democratic Iraq would be a military staging point for futher action against Iran and Syria. This is the MAIN reason these two countries aid insurgents as they do. They simply do not want American Militay Might on their front porches or backyards. I believe this operation is going much better than what the popular media would have everyone to believe.
If the next president of the US of A is democratic I fear that not enough will be done to resolve this quickly(thus more lives lost), but on the other hand I think another republican will push too hard(more lives lost and more tax dollars spent), and possibly prematurely start a campaign on either Syria or Iran.