[Totenkopf]

You have asked one of the most important questions. Looking back on history, democracies have not worked in the middle east. This question is brought up in the book, "From Beirut to Jerusalem", that I am reading right now. The author gives some pretty strong arguements stating the a democracy may never work in the middle east due to the culture of the people there. His support for this arguement is chapters long, so I can't really explain it here. I suggest picking up the book, it's a very good read.

With the ousting of Saddam there will be a power vacuum, and the U.S., in part will be responsible for filling that void. But it isn't going to happen overnight. Occupation of Iraq by U.S., or U.N. soldiers will be a very likely situation. And as we are all aware, people can turn quickly against an occupying force even when they have the best intentions (i.e. Beirut, Somalia, etc.). It's not the war I am worried about, but what happens after it.