Historical examples of effective military action bringing about fruitful negotiation abound -- underline effective -- see Viet Nam for a distant validation. WW I also offers some insights. I'll leave it to the historians on the board to provide more, there are plenty out there.

Anyone who'd ever spent a week in the ME could've told anyone who'd listen (note that caveat...) that any hope that Iraq would become a clean, efficient democracy in the foreseeable future was a dream and that the central government's authority would be limited.

There is little doubt that a low grade 'civil war' will continue, crime will flourish and industry will suffer -- it is, after all the ME. They'll get to the point where those will not be truths -- but it won't be in my lifetime.