Quote Originally Posted by Psycho4Bud
??Think of it as a version of today??s Afghanistan ?? minus the poppy fields.?
I really don't understand how this analogy can be made. Your talking about Afghanistan that has a GNP of $5 billion and Irag with a GNP of $36 billion...the difference being that 60% of Afghanistans GNP is in the illegal poppy trade. With like populations this puts Iraq into a far more favorable light not to mention that with the future plans on the table for Iraq they have a very good possibility of putting that number to $100 billion by 2010.

The countries diversity with the Sunni, Shi-ite, and Kurds will be the one equation that will actually save Iraq. Neighboring countries such as Sunni dominated Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait surely don't want a Shi-ite dominated Iraq ran in the same fashion as Iran. And like wise, Iran doesn't want to see another Saddam style Sunni regime. And the one thing that all the neighbors agree on is that an independent Kurd nation is out of the question. This leaves one option, eventual peace! Once the Iraqi forces are up to strenth enough for the "infidels" to leave, I really think your going to see all these opposing neighbors work like hell to try to make their new system work.

Like the ol' saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. That regions distaste for a Kurdish nation will force the Sunni and Shi-ites to make concessions and therefore aid to Iraqs success.

VERY interesting region of the world.....glad to be in the U.S.A.!:thumbsup:
I didn't get the Iraq/Afghanistan analogy, either, but thanks for confirming my skepticism on the opinions expressed in this article. At least they brought the Afghani heroin issue up - and got that right.
Good points you made - and I hope you're right about Iraq. It's too damn complicated for me to follow this situation (Iraq, etc.) with the level of attention to detail that is required.

:thumbsup: