How long would the United States need to remain in Iraq after a war?
A long time, most experts believe — or else the U.S. could win the war only to lose the peace. Iraq will need humanitarian aid, economic rebuilding and political restructuring — especially if it is to turn into a model of democracy for the Arab world, as some officials have proposed. That will require not only money but also people from the United States, over a long period of time. U.S. officials have said they would probably place Iraq under U.S. military administration in the immediate aftermath of a war, but shift responsibility to an international civilian administration as soon as possible. At the same time, the U.S. hopes to convene Iraqi factions to write a new constitution and eventually hold elections. * Would a war transform Iraq into a stable pro-Western democracy? If the United States goes to war, this may be the barometer by which history judges the decision. Iraq, a nation descended from some of humanity’s oldest civilizations, has no tradition of democracy, but a very
