You may be right... But hopefully the extreem islamist factions will be rejected by the majority of Iraqis...And a lot will depend on if a constitutional model is adopted that will insure to some degree the rights of political minorities in Iraq.

The US and Europe will also have a lot of say in this matter as well: Will they back the Iraqi democracy while it is in its tender infant stages? Or will they take the "easy road out" by cuting and running, Or worse will they settle by establishing some puppet dictator as you mentioned?

Well as I see it, I don't think the "puppet dictator" is going to happen: Politically nobody stands to gain from that one (Except for the puppet and his immediate family)...

I don't see the US cutting and running. At least not until Bush is gone from office and that is looking increasingly like it won't happen until January 2009.

Iraq is certainly not Vietnam so the likelihood of the anti-US factions winning a long-term war of attrition is pretty difficult to imagine. As more and more pro-US iraqi police and military forces are established, it will become increasingly difficult for the attacks on US servicemen to continue...

I would expect that the US troops will eventually maintain a minimal presence in Iraq (Maybe border security, intellegence, and air base maintenence) as the Iraqi's themselves take over the brunt of policing and anti-terrorist activities...So while the US military presence might be hated by some, it isn't going to be a huge factor one way or the other from the pespective of the average Iraqi. In fact, it might eventually be seen as a stablizing factor by most Iraqis (if it isn't already).

Remember that Japan and Germany ha very little or no experience with constitutional Democracy prior to their "Occupation" after World War II. Both terrorrrized their regions before their current democratic systems were instituted. Its time to give the experiment another chance.

It won't be easy, but then why not try?

Scott Evil