I keep hearing people at home talk about how the coalition and the new government in Iraq will be successful. Then I hear stories from people who have actually been there and they talk about mass graves, constant attacks, bloodbaths and chaos. I've heard people coming back from Iraq describing it as hell on earth. Meanwhile, I keep noticing striking similarities between what's going on now and what happened in Vietnam: successful elections early on, a guerrilla campaign by an outnumbered number of insurgents, etc. That is not what, in my opinion, can rightfully be called stability. And we wonder why some Iraqis are nostalgic for the days of Saddam Hussein.
Tony, New York, NY, USA
Of course the attacks cause problems for the Iraqi government. President Bush is using the violence in Iraq as an excuse to stay, and the more violence there is the longer the US stays. Iraqis seem to want us out and the Iraqi government would to begin gain the trust of its people if the US left. As the government stands now, though, it can do nothing to prevent insurgent attacks. Once the government is expanded to become more powerful the attacks will stop occurring with their current frequency and Iraq will become vastly more stable.
Loren Klick, Lake Villa, IL, USA
The biggest mistake that we all are making is the reason for the insurgency. The insurgents are not fighting against democracy. The insurgents are not fighting against religion. The insurgents are fighting for the same reasons that I would fight regardless of my advanced age. If America was invaded by another country for whatever the reasons, I would fight to the death to repulse the invaders. What would you do?
Jim, Houston, Texas, US
The unrest is not harming the government; the manner with which the government is being pushed on the people is fuelling the unrest. There is very little evidence of imposed governments being either long-lasting or successful.
David Naylor, Mexico City, Mexico
Unrest is the surest way to unsettle the government. This is extremely sad as the Iraqi people have really suffered brutish lives under Saddam Hussein. The present government, however imperfect, needs time, resources and support from all quarters if it is to succeed in quelling the daily snipping and mayhem. There is no real defence against suicide bombers who are hell-bent on destruction. These cold-blooded murderers have been totally brain-washed and commit suicide acts of terror in the name of religion. Stability will eventually be established but first the Iraqi people should firmly embrace democracy. The expertise of the United Nations should also be used fully if Iraq is to survive.
Pancha Chandra, Brussels, Belgium
The Iraqi government is merely a puppet regime. Iraqis will never accept any form of government that is being imposed on them under the guns of unwelcome, illegal invaders.
Frank, Birmingham, UK
The continuing attacks show that the Iraqi government doesn't have control of the situation.
P Bolton, US
Until Islamic clerics demand the insurgents stop killing innocent Muslims, tell them their actions go against Islam, and respect for their demands are met, there will be slow progress, but progress will come only over time. The worst thing people can do is be impatient.
Khalid, Brampton, Canada
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Amy, Cardiff |
Amy, Cardiff
The many comparisons here between Iraq and post-war Japan and Germany are pretty outrageous. First of all, World War II was not about bringing democracy to these countries. That happened only after both countries were utterly devastated by the war, by nuclear bombings in Japan, and 45 years of division and occupation in Germany. I'd hate to think that either of these are a good model for Iraq.
Chris, USA
Here is a thought. if the US believe that the Iraqi justice system is justified in trying Saddam Hussein then is it not proper for them to hand over the soldiers and the involved people to them for trial. As a neutral observer I believe that this will be correct.
Senthil Kumar, Canada
Comparing post World War II Germany and Japan to Iraq is like comparing apples to pears. The political, cultural, economic and historical backgrounds are utterly different. Those trying to draw parallels are just showing their ignorance of the history of the Middle East. Ask yourself if the post-war Germans would have been so keen about the Allies if they had supported and funded Hitler during the worst of his excesses and then invaded later claiming to be 'liberators'. Doesn't quite work when you look at it like that, does it?
Katherine, London, UK
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John, Hemel Hempstead |
John, Hemel Hempstead
The Sunnis in Iraq had a monopoly on power under the rule of Saddam Hussein. They are now being asked to share power with the rest of Iraq. Of course they're not going to agree to this. Is it really any surprise that they are fighting against the new government? Anyone who thought that the Sunnis would give up power willingly was delusional.
Sarah, Chicago USA
After WWII, it took Italy five years before they could hold elections. In that time there were killings and bombings, just as we see in Iraq now. Yes, there will be democracy in Iraq, but it won't be overnight.
Brian Clark Jr, New York City, USA
To the many people who say things like "you cannot install a new government by force" or "regime change and democracy isn't something you can install in a country", have they forgotten about Germany and Japan to name just two where exactly this happened. It should be easier to do this in Afghanistan and Iraq as both peoples actually want democracy and have not been fighting against the so called occupiers, as the countries were in the Second World War. It seems the only people who do not want this to work are terrorists and their (perhaps unwitting) supporters in the west.
JG, Scotland, UK
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Chris, UK |
Chris, UK
The terrorist bombings and kidnappings are only serving to decrease the support for the insurgents and increase the support for the Iraqi Government and Security Forces. Trust me, terrorists will be found and turned in by the dozens if not hundreds soon and it will be the Iraqi people themselves who do this. It's already happening.
John, NJ, USA
For a start, it's not an Iraqi government. It's an interim cabinet who are meant to decide on a constitution and pave the way for real elections later. As for the unrest, that's another misnomer. The war against the invaders has never stopped, despite Bush's statement two year's ago. First we were told they were foreign fighters, then they were called insurgents, now the US admits it's mainly disenfranchised Sunnis, who not surprisingly don't want to give up power. The new Iraqi cabinet has no answer to the security problem caused by having tens of thousands of Sunnis who have access to Iraq's previous military stockpiles and know how to use them.
John Farmer, Henley-on-Thames, UK
To John, UK: I wonder if you feel the same about Northern Ireland? I think there are, in Iraq, the enemies of the West and any democratic type of government attempting to sway public opinion through the wholesale murder of innocent people. The world cannot allow this tactic to succeed in Iraq, any more than the British government could afford to allow it to succeed in Northern Ireland. Chaos would be the result in either case.
Douglas, Louisiana, USA
The depth of negative comments here is, as usual, incredibly depressing. In the long run I believe we will see a stable Iraq, and a better one than if nothing had been done. But all these complainers have never yet offered a better solution than to have left Saddam Hussein in power, with such a tight and cruel grip that the population would never have had a chance without external intervention. Blame the attacks on the attackers, not the ones who try to sort things out.
Simon, Manchester, UK
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Alistair, Chatham, UK |
Paul, UK
In reply to EB. The UN is not democratic as the majority of its member states are not democratic. How is going against the UN incompatible with democracy? The two are not linked.
Alistair, Chatham, UK
Ather, Toronto/Canada. We need about 200,000 peacekeepers in Iraq with plenty of heavy support and enough armoured vehicles to move them around. If we withdraw all US and British troops from Iraq where will the UN find this many good troops whose governments are prepared to take casualties? Canada? France? Germany. The problem is much more complex than "get some UN troops in blue berets and everything will be fine".
Peter, Notts
Basically, there are only three options for running Iraq: partition along ethnic lines, dictatorship or a power sharing democracy. Those who are continually sniping from the sidelines are desperate for democracy to fail in the erroneous belief that their anti-war stance will be vindicated, but they never say which one of the other options they would prefer. True, it takes time to establish a democracy but it will never come if in the meantime a dictator is installed or the country is partitioned.
Steve, Bristol, UK
Dave, Nottingham & John, UK: As we approach VE Day on May 8th, may I take this opportunity to remind you that we installed a democracy after regime change in Germany & Japan. Would you agree that that was a good thing to do, in the long run? Please, go on-line and visit just a hand full of weblogs by Iraqis who are actually in Iraq - they cannot understand the selfishness of the west's anti-war protestors and neither can I.
Roger, Whitwick, UK
Interesting how many US commentators use the word 'insurgents.' Like 'collateral damage' for dead women and children, this euphemism for freedom fighters is a piece of US Government propaganda that their people have bought into. (Democracy, like charity begins at home). If these guys are insurgents then so were the French resistance and the minute men. Don't misunderstand my position; I don't like it any more than you do, but you won't get the upper hand if you misrepresent or fail to understand what is going on there.
John Lawrence, Southampton, UK
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Lee, Stockton, UK |
Lee, Stockton, UK
Found any WMD yet? Thought not. Found who did 9/11 yet? Thought not. Found any connection whatsoever between 9/11 and Iraq? Thought not. Found any evidence that the UK was under a "current and real threat of attack by Iraq within 45 minutes"? Thought not. Won the war on terror by more war? Thought not. Won the battle for hearts and minds in Iraq? Thought not. Any intelligent brains in the US finally realising what a total mess this is and finally coming to the realisation that you cannot trample over the world replacing governments at whim? Oh I so hope so.
Patricia, Henley, UK
Two countries go against all common sense and the international communities and illegally invade a sovereign state that is not threatening either one of them and continue to occupy this country after massacring 250,000 of its civilians, leaving it in total chaos since they invaded with no thought whatsoever of what happens afterwards. In return, some citizens resist. What on earth does the world expect?
Tom Franklin, London, UK
I'm old enough to remember the American organised elections and governments of South Vietnam. What we're witnessing now is in many ways a replay of Vietnam - imposed solutions containing little understanding of the country and its people. A three-state federal Iraq is probably the only democratic solution for Iraq as a single entity; the alternative is a central iron fist as it had before.
John M, UK
The real truth about Iraq is that there is no government. These puppets installed by the US have no mandate to rule and as such will be defeated eventually.
Brendan Keegan, Dublin, Ireland
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Merlin Cox, London, UK |
Merlin Cox, London, UK
The American and British Governments started this problem so they should finish it by backing and supporting all those who want to create a stable democratic Iraq. However, the USA and UK must allow the Iraqi government make its own decisions.
Mark, Hednesford, UK
Call me a pessimist, but I think the new Iraqi government is half-baked and does not represent the second-largest majority - the Sunnis. They should have included the moderate elements of Sunnis in the cabinet. And what is the controversial Ahmed Chalabi doing in the cabinet?
Aziz Merchant, Fremont, USA
I have to say, I'm really disgusted by some of the posts on here. Everyone is so obsessed with seeing the US fail that none of them seem to care about what's best for the Iraqi people. The fact of the matter is, the US invasion freed the people of Iraq from Saddam and allowed for a free and independent democracy to take hold. No matter how much you hate the US, those are simply facts. I wonder though, if its just a hatred of the US that motivates these posts, or a feeling of shame that once again the US/UK had to intervene because the rest of the world was just too selfish to care.
Adam, New Jersey, USA
Democracy can only develop in the presence of a large middle class living in a homogeneous society. Iraq is not one of these countries and bearing in mind that one cannot enforce a Western-style democracy on to any nation without the proper cultural framework. Iraq will have to undergo wars of unification just as the US and many other countries did some 150 years ago. Sadly, there is really no short cut to this. Democracies are very complex political systems and take years of preparation to come to fruition.
Anonymous
It is not fair to judge this new government as the puppet of the US government. Yet it's also very naive to say that US did not interfere in the forming of this government. Will this government survive? Yes, but only without US-coalition forces standing behind them and after another two or three years full of bloodshed.
Rihan, Brisbane, Australia
Let this be a lesson in why regime change and democracy isn't something you can just install in a country. Revolution has to come from within, and all this war has succeeded in doing is completely destabilizing Iraq.
Dave, Nottingham, UK
It baffles my mind to find so many people in this forum still calling the new Iraqi government "illegitimate" despite a 62% voter turnout, and Bush the main culprit for all these attacks. Your coffee-shop conspiracy theories are exactly what these terrorists want to hear.
Michael Rossi, Edison, USA
This illustrates what we already know, that you cannot install a new government by force. Violence breeds violence.
John, UK
There are only two ways to weaken terrorists. The first was practiced by Saddam and whilst effective, proved somewhat unpopular. The second is to give people representation and freedom and hence remove the ground support for the terrorists. (See Ireland for a perfect example!) If the government follow this path as they seem to be trying to do, then the unrest will only serve to strengthen them and weaken the madmen.
JBB, Yorks
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EB, Kingston upon Thames, UK |
EB, Kingston upon Thames, UK
The Iraqi people wanted what the rest of the world wants, peace and prosperity after decades of fear and intimidation. However, there remains the threat posed by the loyalists of Saddam Hussein who sow terror right in the heart of Iraq. If unabated, it will surely affect the legitimacy of the newly elected government. It will also affect the way people from the international community views Iraq. It should be contained and terrorists be brought to justice. These scenes of carnage are never acceptable to the eyes of many who fought for what is just, humane and equitable environment.
Wendell Glenn P. Cagape, Philippines
Do any of you really understand who the "insurgents" are? They don't represent the will of the Iraqi people. They are foreign Muslim extremists. And those of you that use there terror campaign in an attempt to justify your political motivations should be ashamed.
GS, NY, US
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Greg, Sydney, Australia |
Greg, Sydney, Australia
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