How long do you think the Iraq war will go on?

Question

-2009
-2015
-2020
-Forever (kind of like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict)

Answer 1

Years, if not decades..... and there will be sectarian violence in the region for decades if not centuries.

Our presence or absence is not going to change either.

Answer 2

2009

Answer 3

Until sometime between 2025 and 2035. It could be as short as around 2015, but then again, it could go until 2065 or longer.

Ethnic civil wars usually last 20 to 30 years and only end with one side clearly defeating the other. Short ones go around 10 years and long ones can last over 60 years (the report I looked at only lists civil wars between the end of WWII and 2001, but the oldest ones didn't end during the interim).

There have been a couple of exceptions:

South Africa was a very short civil war with low casualty levels (for civil wars, anyway) and ended in both sides sharing power. Guatemala also ended with both sides sharing power, but they're probably about 50-50 as to whether civil war breaks out again. (Three other countries technically successfully resolved civil wars through power sharing since the fighting stopped for at least 5 years, but new civil wars broke out in those 3 around 10 to 15 years after the first 'sucessfully resolved' civil war).

Bosnia didn't really end, but at least the fighting has been put on hold for a prolonged period of time. If you can stop the fighting, it gives you a lot more time to find some sort of real resolution (other than foreign peacekeepers holding the two sides apart).

Answer 4

Conflicts will be around for sometime. Heavy engagement by US forces will probably diminish somewhere around 2009 or 2010. Most democrats are even saying it will take a large amount of time to deploy out.

But given we're still in South Korea and Europe...years after the war, and mostly to ensure things don't get too out of hand, we'll probably have some forces there on a semi-permanent basis.

Answer 5

if your talking about the U.S occupation then maybe 2015 to 2020. the U.S cant leave, if they do then all hell would definitely break lose. plus the fact that the U.S is worried that if they go Iran would have a lot more inluence in Iraq than they do. also the world wouldn't be to happy if they had to clean up the mess. I wouldn't want to be in the position of G. Bush or any upcoming president. i hope things get better soon.

Answer 6

Guess that depends on what you mean.

If you are asking how long the US and its "allies" will have combat troops in the country, it will last just a little over a year (until the Presidential Election).

If you asking how long the ethnic and religious strife in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East will go on, that will be for several decades at least.

Answer 7

My guess it will be decided by 2009-2010. That is what the President always stated at least as his best guess. We are making progress. It's not the love wonderland yet, but a whole lot of people are working towards that. I also suspect that we will have a base there with troops there full time.

Answer 8

The war as it is can not endure. A humanitarian effort needs to be administrated to clean up all the loose ends. It is a time to access needs of the people and show them that as a democracy we can make peace as well as war. To show persons that being American is not an evil Nazism concept.That Americans are caring intelligent people and we are not afraid to die but we choose to live a better life. Suicide bombers don't want to die they have no idea about the better life that can be offered for their families and themselves as men who need to live and help their families learn a productive and peaceful life. We need to learn from the Iraqi as well the strengths that they have as men and woman and heal one another in these turbulent times. We need to learn that we are both human and have better qualities than what we have so far illustrated to one another and show the passion for life and rebuilding and rebirth.

Answer 9

The religious wars and cult wars of the Mid-East will be going on for at least the next hundred years, providing that human habitation of the planet Earth has not ended before. There are no winners. Only turmoil.

Answer 10

Do I really trust the dems when they say they'll end the war when Hillary gets in power? I'm not sure. They got elected last time for saying they'd get us out of Iraq, and where are we now. 2009 would obviously be the earliest there is a shot, assuming a dem or Ron Paul gets in. And redeployment out of Iraq will take 10 months. But if they lie as I suspect they are doing, they're politicians, it is anybody's guess.

Answer 11

If George Bush withdraws today (won't happen) the troops can be out by mid/late 2008.

Since it will probably take a new president to withdraw troops, they can be out by late 2009.

Violence amongst Iraqis and rival groups will go on though for some time.