[jdm2212]

> but went wrong because the Iraqi people are simply allergic to democracy

There's an assumption in what you're saying that the "Iraqi people" is a meaningful entity with a collective will that is expressed through collective action. We use that kind of thinking to reason about liberal democracies where there is a meaningful entity (a voting public with a storng shared national identity) and a mechanism (elections) for expressing preferences and a means (representative government, civil society) of taking collective action. It's not a very useful way to analyze a bunch of people who have none of those things.

My point wasn't that "Iraq is allergic to democracy." It was that thinking in terms of societies being drawn to or repulsed by democracy is an error in itself. The way to avoid those errors is to study lots of societies over a long period of time. That's where history helps you identify and understand the narratives and categories you unconsciously use to understand the world.

[aabeshou]

I don't know whether Iraq's current culture is amenable to democracy. However I don't know that the U.S.'s current culture is actually more amenable to democracy. Further, the idea that the U.S. military effort aims to install democracy has been disproven over and over again - the U.S. military generally aims to install regimes that are friendly to U.S. military and business interests, regardless of the wishes of the local people who are actually governed. This is the opposite of democracy. So it seems inappropriate and even offensive to bring up the question of whether Iraq is ready for democracy, though I don't think you intended to be offensive.