[plain talk]

Not to be argumentative but the Iraqi people are not going to do squat IMO to get rid of paramilitary types, e.g Basra. My point is Saddam and whoever is left could still run a paramilitary operation in Iraq for years.

[Tom Bombadil]

You may be right. I've often thought that the Russian "mafia" was just an extension of the old KGB.

The lack of a quick replacement government would also tend to favor your view. Things are very dicey in Iraq.

In my view though, any continuation of the present regime would more resemble gangsters than it would a true guerilla movement because the Iraqi people just want to be left alone to live thier lives in peace, and the vast majority of them will "migrate" to the side they percieve as being most benign........Thanks for the thought.