President Bush is placing a great deal of emphasis on the Iraqi elections on the 30th of January. Even if these elections are held, there is no guarantee it will help to create a more peaceful Iraq or enable the withdrawal of American forces.
The possibilities that will follow the election are many. It is possible that a government may be selected around which the majority of Iraq people will rally and move toward a more stable environment. On the other hand the government that is selected may turn out to be just another enemy for the United States and the West to deal with.
Another possibility is that large factions of Iraq will not accept the new government and the unrest that we are seeing will turn into a civil war. We might also see the new government request the United States to leave and after our forces are removed Iraq turns into a bloodier battlefield.
One thing that President Bush has said that is correct is we must judge based on results.
Thus, the weeks and months ahead will show us if the United States has made the right or the wrong choice by going into Iraq.