Quote Originally Posted by TheCurmudgeon View Post
No, my comment was not intended for any particular politician.

To me it is more of a question of overall culture rather than particular personality.
The GoI as a structure and framework is going to be enduring. The Iraqi people LIKE the GoI - they're showing up to the polls at rates in the high 80% rate. Some areas in the latest Kurd elections broke into the mid-90%s. "The Culture" has embraced the framework we laid out for them and I highly doubt that after we leave they're going to make any drastic changes.

They're going to swap out politicians before they decide to get rid of this whole representative democracy thing. Its not the government that is in danger of going away; its the individual politicians who are in the government.


What I see is a Government and an Army made up of a very proud and headstrong people who no longer want our help.
Just to make an analogy, this is like saying that because America invaded Iraq everyone in the American government and military were in favor of invading Iraq. Which, of course, we know isn't the case.

The orders getting sent out of the Prime Minister's office don't reflect the wishes of the entire GoI or the Army. Let alone the people on the street.

If the people don't like the consequences of these actions, then come January, we might find ourselves with a new Prime Minister who is more than willing to talk business.