" I find it difficult to take the statement that Iraq would suddenly be "doing much better than the American people have managed thus far."
We were speaking of "self-governance" - if "self-governance" means some kind of democratic society, I don't think the U.S. is doing all that well. Even proportional representation is a pipe dream in this country. If all you mean by "self-governance" is governance by a domestic rather than a foreign elite. Sure. We're doing just dandy. For whatever it's worth.
Joanna