[regfortruegoo]

Well Dur.

[Spisivavona]

And Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi

[pushokalex1]

I think Iraq would have gone the way of Iran. Both have / had hardened militaries that had absolutely no problem massacring their own people

[grosqueneen]

I think Iraq would have gone the way of Iran. Both have / had hardened militaries that had absolutely no problem massacring their own people

Do you mean a Theocracy or a crackdown like Lybia today?

Agreed. As long as SH was around, it wouldn't have happened.
The real question is would all this be happening now if it hadn't been for what happened in Iraq.

That's the second time you bring it up. So I guess you're serious about it. I see no real connection, mainly because Saddam has been gone for so long now. Had the two cases been related I suppose the rebelling would have started in 2004 or '05.

To the OP: The answer has already been given by Sadist Hussein himself after he failed in his Kuwait-adventure and smashed the Kurds and Marsh-Arabs.

[lammaredder]

I'm only half serious, but you have to wonder if there might be a connection. Granted it's been a long time but things there have started to improve. The only reason I bring it up is for all the people that laughed for a month when it was suggested back then that bringing Democracy to Iraq might eventually lead to it spreading in the region. Just because you don't see a real connection does not mean it doesn't exist.

The same could be said for any number of other connections, like a connection between eating tuna fish salad and increased fertility, or any other unestablished correlation you care to name. It's going to need some positive evidence. If anything, the lesson of Iraq would be that dictators can be removed by overwhelming military force from a Western power, which is precisely the opposite of what happened in Tunisia and Egypt (and appears to be happening in Libya, albeit in a messier way).

[TpDoctorOneTp]

Do you mean a Theocracy or a crackdown like Lybia today?

He means like '91.

[boXGWf04]

I was one that originally supported the invasion (not for a lot of the reasons given). I will also admit that in hindsight, it wasn't a great idea. But it would be nice if something (no matter how little) good comes from it.

[WomanBreast40356]

I was one that originally supported the invasion (not for a lot of the reasons given). I will also admit that in hindsight, it wasn't a great idea. But it would be nice if something (no matter how little) good comes from it.

Rah, I suddenly realized Uncle Sam did something brilliant that does influence the current situation in Lybia: They negotiated with Moammar 'Mad Dog' Gadaffi to have him give up his NBC weapons. Heaven forbid to think what he could have thrown at his own populace then.

[videolkif]

Hmmm, I love the smell of fresh manure in the morning .

[shenacatro]

[Trebbinsa]

Perhaps another take on the OP: Will Iraq go the way of Libya/Egypt/Tunisia?

[kjsdiuwe]

That's a dumb question to ask because it's obvious that wasn't the plan.

[valiumnopresc]

Yep, we can see in hindsight that the war was a stupid idea.

[DevaRextusidis]

The GOP stimulus plan: Over one trillion dollars spent bombing, torturing, and murdering impoverished brown farmers and goat herders on the other side of the globe.

[roundman]

True

No invasion needed - just have to wait for Saddam to kill enough Iraquis so they get pissed enough to revolt. Unfortunatedly, he did have a tendency to commit genocide if opposed, so it could be kinda bloody and a failure.

If Saddam had shown that sufficient brutality was enough to stay on top, then there may have been other histories to be told from Tunesia, Egypt etc.

Or maybe Saddam was not really as much of a sadist as we thought. Maybe he didn't know that the bio-chemical weapons he used on his people would kill them.

[BadbarmrapBef]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_uprisings_in_Iraq

[AlbrtJhnsqw]

Iraq might still go the way of Egypt, Libya and Tunis.