I'm sure I'll get denouced as an apologist for imperialism for saying this, but really, Charles, if you asked almost anyone on earth whether he or she would prefer to live in North or South Korea, you'd have a hard time finding anyone who preferred the North.
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No doubt.
Up to a certain point, I sympathize with people who praise states like N. Korea for its continued (and very costly) resistance to the Washington dominated system. But there's a danger of elevating this resistance to an absolute virtue - one that covers every flaw like newly fallen snow. Conversely, states like S. Korea - very much a part of the world game - are given little credit for the styles of resistance they craft within the available space.
S. Korea is probably the most democratic nation in east Asia. This was accomplished in spite of the American presence, not because of it ( I recommend the curious investigate the 1980 KwangJu uprising, which my wife took part in, for details about the S. Korean's struggle for democracy).
A strict interpretation of resistance - one that narrowly looks for the correct words and proper forms - overlooks KwangJu 1980 and what has followed in favor of whatever comes out of Pyongyang.
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Charles I suspect that your Korean analogy will prove correct, insofar as the Americans will not leave (not entirely, though I anticipate a draw down to approx 40 thousand soldiers at the soonest opportunity) and the Iraqis will grow accustomed, more or less, to irksome bases in their midst for some time to come.
But this doesn't mean they won't fashion their own future. Ayatollah al Sistani is obviously aware of the need for political power - instead of ruthless violence alone - as the essential tool for nullifying the Americans as a controlling force. American lefties, by and large, are unwilling to credit the deftness of this maneuver because Sistani is a religious leader who doesn't speak in the language of class struggle and anti-imperialism. Even so, given wholly predictable US intransigence the best case is that they'll build around the American presence, rendering it obsolete - step by step - much like the S. Koreans have done.
.d.
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