What should we do in iraq?

what should we do in Iraq???

I share toadaly's opinion. In fact, it wasn't long before the US and Vietnam started working on trade and normalized relations.

The US needs to drastically scale back its military presence in the country, if not outright leave. It's a mistake to think we should continue to help them set up a properly working democracy. That will take many, many years and is not worth our continued effort. The country is, quite frankly, far too tribalized for that to happen overnight.

More infrastructure has been set up there than people realize. The Iraqis have an oil industry that is up and running and earning them enormous revenue. If their government is too corrupt to use that money to continue improving social and civil services where they are still lacking, then there's nothing we can do for them.

Who knows? I don't think anyone that is going to post an answer here is even going to have the slightest idea on what to do. The problem is we don't have any idea what is really going on over there. We are just told what the media and the government wants us to know. I know one thing for sure, if we start bringing everyone home before Iraq is secure and self suffitiant, then everything we have done until now will be a total and complete waste. Everyone that has died in this stupid war will have died for nothing. That is a really complicated subject that noone can really know.

finish what we started.
we messed up the country now we have to fix it
even tho we are losing so many people we love and care about

The only question that needs to be asked is, what would be maximally beneficial to us. Bluntly, I don't care about Iraq or its government or even much about the people there, just as they don't care about me.

I can see no realistic downside to pulling out. When we pulled out of Vietnam and left it to fall to communism, nothing happened to us as a result in spite of all the fear mongering and domino theories.

very true, but how would you like it if some random country came over here and messed up our government beyond repair
then left and made us fend for ourselves
personally I would be P!SSED off
and seek revenge

In a grownup manner, determine what is indeed the best course of action which is aligned with America's best interests and do it - any country that finds itself in a war, should be in it to win it.

Genocide is hard to fix

The problem mjax, is the government is one that Bush put in place. And they learned corruption from the best of them. The sooner we get out, the better it will be for us and them.

I believe that we should pull out...
I also believe if we pull out, it will NOT mean that the soldiers who died in this war died for nothing. These were brave soldiers doing what they were told was the correct action.
The civilians who died, well that is another story and always will be.
Many, when they think of this or any war, count only their military casualties...
the other side, soldiers and civilians, is sadly usually not considered.

'the government is one that Bush put in place.'

And it's become a little easier to see that Rumsfeld and Cheney were behind him, pulling the strings. I imagine Dubya was too busy trying to make his Slinky go down the stairs to worry about the details of Iraqi politics (that's not a euphamism by the way...I really am talking about the toy).

Mjax, you are right. Sometimes I just say Bush, when I really mean the administration. Bush is not interested enough to really understand what is going on over there.