I know a certain number of people that have this philosophy. The thought being somehow the US is going to Americanize Iraq. I think this is a silly notion. I say the first (and every subsequent) McDonalds in Iraq will get blown to smithereens (if the construction ever allowed to finish).
I aggree with you friend. I think that somewhere in the bible in the book of revelations, it says that the end of the world is supposed to start in the middle east. To me I really believe that the longer we stay there, the more hell is going to rise. :eek:
Well there you go. :rolleyes:
There are McDonalds in just about every country on Earth (including most of the rest of the Middle East). Why wouldn’t you think that there would be one in Iraq once things settle down a little?
What about Starbucks though? 
Everybody wants a tall nonfat Latte right?
Seriously though I think that democracy will struggle in Iraq because so many religious groups over there seem to have an intrinsic hate for one another, and are very willing to kill. It will take an near dictator to establish order. Saddam did well because everyone was way to scared of him to fight with each other.
I agree that the current generation is too mired in religion and hate to allow a McDonald’s to flourish. I do think that in a generation or two things will cool down there though. Religious extremism sucks.
There are 9 McDonald’s in Bahrain. 7 in Jordan (a nation not exactly renowned for its citizens’ pro-American stance), 34(!) in Kuwait, 9 in Lebanon (see Jordan), 4 in Oman- three of which I’ve eaten at, 7 in Qatar, 71 in Saudi Arabia, 25 in the UAE, 9 in Pakistan…
At time of writing, none of them have been firebombed, subject to sabotage, or even shot at.
The worst incident I found was an anti-beef slogan spray painted across the window of one of the Karachi restaurants.
Seems to me Iraq is the “holy war” though. Insurgents (people coming from other countries to assure the USA doesn’t take a hold) are in Iraq. I think it will be a long, long time before things “settle down” in Iraq, if ever. Seems to me the extremists over there look at Iraq as their last stand. Do you think we will kill off all of the extremists? I don’t think so. As soon as you think “mission accomplished”, they will come right back again. I’m having doubts there will ever be an “end game” in Iraq.