Do you think Bush will create a real democracy in Iraq? Should he given the possibility it could lead to an Islamic regime hostile to our interests? Can the Iraqis handle democracy?

IMO, no, Bush cannot bring democracy to Iraq. But that doesn't mean they aren't capable of democracy. It only means it's not something you can bomb into being.

I shall rule you through violence Sorry i just wanted to say that. This war in Iraq if i remember sometime long ago was about terrorism was it not? What does bringing democracy to Iraq have to do with that? What i really think we bought off in the long run by grabbing this nation is just that, Iraq is just now owned by America, and will stay that way. No free government is going to be going in Iraq for a very long time, not free in the sense of free, but it would be rather self defeating to allow them to bring back elements that are undesirable to u.s interests. I just want to see how deep a rift or how much of an effect this will truly have an international politics, economics and that sort of thing. I also wander how many more terrorists we are making everyday of occupation and shaping of the Middle East to our liking?

There is no way to INSTALL a democracy at gunpoint. Any attempt by America to place a goverment to our liking will eventually fail, and a ruthless opportunistic man will step into the power vacuum that will come after the fall of whatever goverment we install support is taken away, and we will have saddam all over again, and a mobilized population to harbor bad things against us. I envision another Haffaz Assad from Syria, but without Saddam's weakness. Just my crystal ball talking.

I think the flow of your questions indicate the cleft stick that the US (and UK) is in over Iraq.

If it is a "real" democracy that it hostile to US interests, the USA has to just grin and bear it, doesn't it? I mean, what business is it of anyone else's if a government that is legitimately and freely elected on universal suffrage (as opposed to a revolution- or coup- driven one) doesn't agree with the USA?

(Ssh! Nobody mention Chile).

If they are actively hostile (i.e. they carry out or sponsor acts of war), then the USA will have recourse to self defence at that time.

But if they just refuse to do all of the USA's bidding like, say, France, why should Bush hesitate from attempting Iraqi democracy?

It sounds to me that the fear is not that Iraq won't be able to handle democracy, but that the Bush USA will not be able to handle Iraqi democracy.

I think it is entirely within the realm of possibility that a representative government will succeed in Iraq. The biggest barrier will be the factionalism of the various groups. If the Iraqis can overcome their dislike for one another, than the government will be stable. If they cannot, then it will be another unstable region.

The US should not "dictate" who the government will be. I feel that whoever the government is, they will be friendly (on the face) towards the US while we still have a troop presence there. Once we pull out and they are left to their own devices, then we will see.

Bush wants a democracy in Iraq. He's said it in many speeches. I think that it might be a major power struggle against the Islamic Fundementalists for a while and then they will get tired of trying to butt in. As for can iraq handle a Democracy, that is hard to say seeing as they are used to a Islamic Military dictatorship and the fact that they have a neighbor who would like to see Iraq's new gov't to become a clone of their theocracy

There are essentially two barriers to a representative democracy in Iraq.
The first is the complete absence of of any kind of substanative progress in developing the national infrastructure. As much as it pains me to admit it, we need more troops on the ground to provide the security that developing the water, power, telecommunication and transportation systems requires.
The second barrier is the the very real fear that any democratically elected government will rely on the old standby of turning the United States into a bogeyman in order to coelesce a constituency (sound familiar?). This puts us into a double bind. On the one hand the United States must appear to have the Iraqi people's best interests in mind but unfortunately what is best for the Iraqi people isn't so hot for America so we're not about to gamble on the unknown.
So where do go from here? More troops, more money devoted to national development and more assistance from the United Nations. Guess what though? Most American's want none of those things. They want to bring the troops home and forget about the whole mess. Come to think of it, so do I.

Isn't that what we did with Germany, Italy, Japan and Panama? Whether or not Iraq can be succesfully transformed into a democracy, it is possible to install democractic governments through military action.

The WSJ has an excellent piece that analyzes the current situation and offers a path that we might be well-advised to take.

WSJ

it is really hard to say if bush will accomplish this, but im going for a yes.

Jimbo - be constructive in your debates here. It's very difficult to debate one-liners.