Originally Posted by W.E.B. Du Bois

Sure we screwed up after we won on the battlefield, but that doesn't mean that we'll lose the peace.

There's a lot of variables involved.

* Whether the people support their government
* Whether their army stands or runs
* Whether or not the insurgents still want to fight once we start to pull our troops out


I think the Shi'ite and Kurds would at least want to support the government, as they have the most to gain by doing so. So all they need to do is train an army that won't run away, and we're giving them time to do that. The question is if we can actually build up an army that identifies enough with their government, that they will actually fight and not run away. The people have to believe that the government is theirs and take control of it.

If they just say eh, the government is corrupt, or it's a puppet government, then I guess it will fall.