Legitimacy

I think the biggest question around the Iraqi government's call for the exit of US and other foreign troops is what this means for the Bush administration's arguments for the legitimacy of that government.

It's a fun paradox, really. The Iraqi government needs to reject the presence of US troops to establish itself as legitimate to some segment of the Iraqi population, but doing so calls into question its standing among its longtime supporters (and creators) in the US. And an Iraqi government that says insurgents have a "legitimate right" of resistance against US forces can hardly be called a puppet by its challengers here within the antiwar movement.

I just don't know what to make of it all, really, aside from a general sense that, after almost 2 years and over 2000 dead soldiers, all we've done is to replace one regime hostile to the US with another. And religious extremists aren't even in power yet.