Is Iraq a better place now than it was 3 years ago?
467451
If you look at the numbers of deaths per day that were listed by the UN Human Rights Comission prior to Saddam being removed (79) and the number that is averaged today, including terrorist attacks (35), you would have to say that in numbers if nothing else, things are better in Iraq.  I think that things are also better in that the Iraqis now have some say in what their future will look like.  \n\nRemember, more people die in the state of New York per day in traffic accidents than die in Iraq due to terrorism.  Should we withdraw from New York because it's a quagmire?
593642
There is good article on the BBC website that gives two views on the future in Iraq.\n\nIt summarises both sides of the argument.
573756
That depends on the resolution.  If we pull out and Iraq has a civil war, then no.  If Congress finally sends the necessary number of troops to secure the country for the 75 years - YES I REALLY DO BELIEVE THAT'S HOW LONG IT WILL BE - then very eventually, it will be worth it.
382604
The Iraqi Dinar is definitely a long term investment. It probably won't increase in value until the war in Iraq is over and the economy has rebuilt itself. So even if the war ends 3 years from now, Iraq won't rebuild itself less then 5 years later. I'd say you may see a value increase in 5 years, but nothing significant until 10 years have elapsed. Hope this helps.
148410
I think there's little doubt about that.  The only reason the country was stable for so long was Saddam Hussein.  Oppresive dictatorship is a highly effective way to hold together a country that should be torn appart by different factions all vying for control.  Iraq is made up primarily of three groups: the Shi'it Muslims, the Sunni Muslims, and the Kurds.  If I remember correctly, the Sunni's have most of the money, but most of the population is Shi'it (I may have reversed the two, though), and neither group is too fond of the Kurds.  Under Saddam, you had the wealthy elite repressing the both other groups.  Now it's revenge time.  No way it's going to be stable.  Besides which anyone who's actually elected president by any kind of majority vote we're going to through out as too religious and too anti-American (guess what, they don't like us very much).
852076
It somehow seems Saddam was doing a good job. Things are really messed up now after his departure and all attempts to fix things over there has failed so far.
1033881
When the job is complete.\n\nSo far we have created a constitutional democracy that the Iraqi people selected in a national referendum.\n\nWe have had two successful (UN certified) elections.\n\nThe Iraqi army is gaining experience - and every week is taking over sectors that were formerly managed by US troops.\n\nThe Iraqi economy is booming.\n\nWe are making progress - but fixing Iraq is not something that can be done overnight.
657980
Yes SA is a better place.  In the past 12 years a lot of changes has happened,  we are now one of the strongest countries in Africa.  Our economy might not be what we want it to be but it's growing fast and life standards are improving.  Contrary to belief diseases do not run rampant through SA.  We have a well developed Health system but like most countries which aren't 1st world we have some problems with execution of some of our services. The 2010 world cup will definitely bring about a great change.  We can only go onward and upward from here!!
732821
I so agree with you bro, I went to Iraq in 2004 and I was in Baghdad for a year. I'm currently in college and I love my country and I love the army, but Iraq was a huge mistake It's a fucking mess over there. I hope american leaders will wake up and realize the sooner we leave the better, because its only gonna get worse over there. I prey that no more of our countrys children will have to endure anymore torture over there because this war doesn't benefit anyone. BRING THE TROOPS HOME, and OBAMA FOR 2008.
668654
No. I think some of the people who lives over there are happy they have their government the way it is now as opposed to what they had before.
989058
That sounds about right. You all know we are still in Afganistan right? We are also still in Kosovo. Did you know that? I don't hear any news from that any more. Except through our military chanells.\nIt takes time to do it right, train their soldiers and police. We have built power plants and water facilities. These facilities were not bombed by us. We made darn sure we kept the infrastructure intact. We gave back what Saddam took away with his 30+ palaces and grand life style for his people the Sunnis (who aren't too happy they don't have a friend running the country anymore). I'm not talking about all the Sunnis though.\nThe big thing is we have to make sure the Government of Iraq has a good enough security force to make Iraq safe and secure. Then we'll leave.\nThe war WITH Iraq was over in spring of 2003. We are fighting insurgants and terrorists now.
841781
Yes, the United States of America and her allies must all pitch in and help rebuild Iraq. When Saddam Hussein first came into power, he was Mr. Nice Guy but once the 1980's came around, he went from being Mr. Nice Guy to becoming Mr. Not So Nice Guy and started to build palaces for himself and had his people live in ruins. Not that Hussein is no longer the President, Iraq is moving everyday towards democracy. If you want to hear the Truh of the Democracy taken shape in Iraq, I recommend that you watch a show titled The 700 Club.
1179806
Yes. all nationalities, cultures and creeds produce incredible minds and Iraq is no exception. For the first time in a while these minds are getting closer to a point where they can be developed without encumbrance and make their contributions to the world.
556985
Not anytime soon.  People in the west need to understand that Iraq and much of the ME region has been heavily factionalized and controlled by local political groups with divergent agendas for thousands of years.  As such, a move to democracy will require a protracted period of time to change the thinking of the general populace.\n\nThe older generations are not likely to welcome any change.  It will take time for them to die off while signifiant continuous effort will be needed to pursuade the younger generations that there is a different way.\n\nLook how long it has taken in the US for anything approaching racial equality and harmony to evolve.  The slaves were freed in the 1860s, yet were not guaranteed suffrage until 100 years later.  Although progress has been made, we still have a LONG way to go.\n\nA meaningful long-term change in Iraq will take a US & UN presence of 50 - 100 years in order to stabilize the political system.  Anyone who thinks otherwise is simply blind to the realities of human nature at best, and an abject fool at worst.
313895
What you see in the Iraq news, is not what you get. The news business demands startling headlines, to attract eyeballs. It's business, as the eyeballs are rented to advertisers to pay for it all. But the reality of the news is less startling, and consists of trends. These are the current trends in Iraq.\n\nAfter three years, the Sunni Arabs, who long dominated Iraq, most recently under the leadership of Saddam Hussein, are giving up. It took so long because of a quirk in Arab culture, one that encourages the support of lost causes. The term "cut your losses and move on" is not as popular in the Arab world as it is in the West. But even the slow learners in the Sunni Arab community had to finally confront some unfavorable trends. Chief among these was;\n\nThe Kurds and Shia Arabs have formed a national police force and army that is far more powerful than anything the Sunni Arab community can muster. Over the last year, Sunni Arabs realized that the police and army were in control of more and more Sunni Arab towns. This was a trend that could not be ignored. Added to that was the number of Kurds and Shia Arabs who had lost kin to Sunni Arab terror over the last three decades. Many of these people want revenge, and they all have guns. Many, especially those that belong to the police, or militias, are taking their revenge. The Sunni Arabs want protection, for they cannot muster enough guns to defend themselves. Now the Sunni Arabs want the Americans to stay, at least until there's some assurance that the Kurd and Shia Arab vengeance attacks have died down.\n\nThe alliance with al Qaeda was a disaster. These Islamic terrorists were obsessed with causing a civil war in Iraq, and they insisted on doing this by killing lots of Shia Arabs. The Sunni Arabs didn't want to kill lots of Shia Arabs, they wanted to rule them all once more. But that raised another contentious issue. While some Sunni Arabs were in favor of an Islam Republic, which al Qaeda insisted on, most Sunni Arabs wanted a more secular Sunni Arab dominated government. This dispute was never resolved, as the split between al Qaeda and the Sunni Arab community widened. At the moment, al Qaeda is not welcome in most Sunni Arab areas. That's "come near this place and we'll kill you" not welcome. This after al Qaeda tried to terrorize the Sunni Arab tribal leaders into compliance. Killing Sunni Arab tribal chiefs didn't work.\n\nYou can't kill enough Americans to scare them into leaving. Saddam, and most Iraqis, were convinced that, because of Vietnam (where 55,000 American died) and Somalia (where 18 died in 1993), the United States would withdraw if you killed enough of them. While that is sometimes true, it's good to remember that over a million Vietnamese died during the 1960s, and that 1993 battle in Mogadishu left over 500 Somalis dead as well. Moreover, this, "the Americans have no stomach for a fight" is nothing new. It's why Japan attacked in 1941, believing that if they beat up the Americans bad enough, the faint hearted Yankees would just go away. Hitler also believed the Americans would not fight. After three years, the Iraqi Sunni Arabs have discovered that the Americans can certainly fight, and the Yankees have also found ways to do it that involve extraordinarily low American casualties. This story has not really gotten the attention it deserves, but the Sunni Arabs have noticed. They have noticed that if you attack the Americans, chances are you will die, and the Americans will just keep on keeping on. It used to be that the Sunni Arabs could take heart from the occasional attack where they killed a few Americans. But no longer. Everyone knows the trend, and doesn't want to be another victim of it. Last month 32 Americans were killed in combat. The last time it was that low was in February 2004. Back then, the Sunni Arab tribes and al Qaeda had joined forces. Both of them had plenty of weapon
949215
As long as the new SOD makes some big changes in Iraq policy. The cut and run crowd will never be satisfied until we totally leave. But I think most people want some type of change instead of "stay the course and do exactly what hasn't worked for the last 4 years."
751527
Arcane are you  crazy?  Their are a lot more modernized middle eastern countries that Iraq.  I have been to a couple different countries and I saw nothing that even Iraq.  You need to know what you are talking about before you start saying stuff like that.  One other thing I want to tell you about.  If the Iraqis didn't want us there all they had to do is run us out,  but they are going through what we did  in our civil war, Losing life's, homes, family and what not they know that it is a necessary evil but most of them are ready for a change.  There have been more business open up in the last year than any other year in their history.  Soon as they can show that their military is able and willing we will be out but no sooner.  It would be a disgrace to the US and its people if we left now and let total hell rain down upon them.