Did anyone happen to catch Steve Forbes' brilliant recommendations for Iraq?
"The U.S. has made clear that there will be no dictator-ships in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. To fulfill that pledge, some think we should have the equivalent of a proconsul, a governor general or something a cut above what the British euphemistically used to refer to as "an official in residence" to oversee the transition phase....
"How about Newt Gingrich as our high-commissioner-equivalent in Iraq? He is politically skillful. He knows history as well as anyone. He has the absorbent mind to learn quickly what he'd need to know about the area, both before and after he arrived on the scene. And experience has taught him how to be politically nimble, a necessity in dealing with the treacherous political and social currents over there.
OR
"Why not bring back to Iraq the Hashemite Monarchy that was murderously ousted in 1958? The Hashemites ruled Iraq well, just as they have Jordan. They could provide the glue to hold together what will be a three-part confederation made up of Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis. Also, such a unifying monarchy might ease Turkey's concerns over an independent Kurdish state. "
(Exerpt From Forbes)
So...Iraqis can choose between Newt - the man who divorced his wife on her death-bed and supported sending welfare kids to orphanages - or a monarchy that, as I understand it, was brought to Iraq by the British post-WWI? Grand! Long-live democracy.