President Bush said beforehand he did not want to so weaken Iraq that it would embolden Iran in the region. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this longtime critic believes George Bush was entirely correct in that evaluation. The larger issue in the region, by far, is Turkey. The last thing Turkey wants is an Iraq so weakened that the Kurds can pay more attention to them or even to dream of a united Kurdistan including a great swath of Turkey itself. Turkey did not rush to support the United States.
Turkey is the key to stabilize the region.
It can dominate Iran, Iraq and Syria - all of the region's bad guys. Yet, stability in Turkey itself is becoming a real problem. While he is proceeding cautiously, his history is as a true believer in pure Islam - eliminating interest rates and the rest. He is pragmatic enough to accept the military's demand for dismissal of fundamentalist officers and a trade and military pact with Israel. Yet, Welfare's vote has tripled between 1987 and 1995 and the secular parties are corrupt.