I'm a little unclear on why people are expecting Iraq to have a stable democracy by now, or in the next six months, or in the next six years. The US, which fought for and initially established its own democracy over 200 years ago, continues to struggle with what it means to be a democracy (our president was for a Constitutional amendment to deny civil rights to a subgroup of American citizens). For us to expect a country which had democracy forced upon them,* which is composed of three rival groups of people, and which is situated in one of the least stable regions of the planet to be a fully functional democracy in less than a decade is absurd.
* Given that democracy is government whose power derives from the people, can it realy be forced? Doesn't it need to develop within the people?
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