I had this thought, If Iraq really becomes a free independant state, but stays unstable, would that be the best for us, and for that matter Isreal. I would think terrorist would concentrat on Iraq, being so close both geographically and in a religious sense. So the people of Iraq will suffer great loss but our tallest buildings won’t be touched by planes, neither will our greatest allies in the mid-east.
Short term, very likely.
Long term, once things settle down, that is just 20 million more people who want you to die horribly.
Actually, way more than 20 million, since we’ve managed to piss off every neighboring nation in the meantime.
In the end, we just make ourselves a bigger target.