Reply #17: This certainly provides food for thought.

[EST]

Even in some alternate universe, the BFEE and its evil cabal didn't just suddenly become what they are because of their failures. The failures, lies, power hunger, and all the other neat shit that makes them what they are, are all built in. No matter what they choose to attack, it'll be the wrong thing, the wrong time and will be designed, whether intentionally or by entropy, to be an utter failure, with the price being paid in human misery and death.
The whole point to their activities and plotting is to force control on the population, whether or not they are met by resistance; their strength derives not from the smooth completion of any takeover, but from the continued onslaughts on freedom. To the point--they can be depended on to pretty much fu*k up anything they tackle. If it weren't Iraq, it would be a project of about the same size, with the same screw ups, and, potentially even greater destruction.
Details are difficult to predict, but broad issues are fairly easy. Bushco and the neo-clowns were aimed at capturing Iraq, turning everything over to private interests and selling all of it off. Raping the planet and its people is what they are about, but their fundamental incompetence always makes the road more rocky. And that fact really doesn't matter.