What would you say to those who claim you were better off under Saddam?

What has been the best change in you life in the last year? What is the biggest new challenge in your life in the last year?

How do you feel / what do you think when you see the American left actively supporting those that oppose a free Iraq?

For the Iraqi citizen living in the United States:

Did you support or oppose the concept of invading Iraq? Did you support or oppose its execution? What connections do you have to the old regime? The new regime?

For the Iraqi official:

How do you intend to handle elections in a country with no reliable census? How does the continued presence of American troops affect your country's sovereignty? Do you prioritize delivering security or freedom to the people of Iraq? How would you address the Kurds' continued demand for a semi-autonomous state? What should happen in Kirkuk?

That's just for starters.

To forestall people who assume I'm rude, or biased in the questions I propose, I should note that I am always inclined to be skeptical. Whether a person is liberal or conservative, I often assume that a person in prominence a) needs to have his motives questioned and b) if he can't handle a few simple questions, he has no business in public life.

--|PW|--

I didn't think your questions were that biased. Thanks.

For the Iraqi in the US:(assuming that they are Muslim)

Would a secular, pluralistic, Iraq attract you to return home or have you made your decision to stay in the US? If so, how deeply do you intend to integrate into mainstream society?

For the Iraqi official:

How will you reconcile the rights and responsibilities of your faction (Shia, Sunni, Kurd, other) and tribe against the rights of the others?

For the Iraqi official:

How would you respond to some Iraqis' worry that the new government is more likely to embrace Sharia than the old Saddam government?

[Note: Saddam's government, in theory if not in practice, was secular and contained recognition for women's rights.]

For the Iraqi official:

Do you see Iraq taking a path toward privatized enterprise and a market economy?

If Saddam were still in power, and you could live in any country in the world, where would you live?

Or to keep it shorter:

Why are you in America?

As you know, most of the world was opposed to U.S. intervention in Iraq.

Do you feel there was any merit to the arguments for respecting Iraqi sovereignty and not invading?

Iraqi official: what steps do you plan to take to avoid the mistakes of the democratization models of eastern europe and latin america- ie, corruption, elitism, suppression of civil society, economic opportunity and capital availability limit to favored segments of society?

1. Currently there are a lot of reports (not just on INDC btw) that American-trained Iraqi troops are turning on the Coalition soldiers. How do you propose to deal with this problem?

2. How is it possible to create any sort of government with Baathist or pro-Baathist members - given that this is the same party that murdered and raped half the country?

3. Will you close the borders to prevent insurgents from entering the country?

4. How do you intend to deal with a nuclear-capable Iran? Are you hoping for an outside military strike to disable/destroy the reactor? Do you forsee a possible war? And if so, how will the mostly Shia citizens react to such an occurence?

5. The muslim extremism has been a curse on Arab nationalism over the past several decades. Everywhere sharia has been instituted in full it has led to utter ruin and a corrupt dictatorial regime. Your country is currently where Europe was when it was in the process of casting off the chains of King and Church during the Rennaisance, however, you do not have the catalyst that the rennaisance provided. No revolutionary ideas of spirit or thought. What can you do to change that?

Finally.

Who is going to determine the Constitution of your government. What will influence the decision, for example, John Locke was the main influence behind the American Constitution. What similiar influence do you have?

Will you use the American Constitution as a model, seeing as how it works? If not, why not?

(I've never been able to understand why everyone insists on "reinventing the wheel" when they have an excellent document that works on hand)

-ron

1. An Iraqi citizen living in the United States

Exactly when is Iraqi-American Dearborn, MI "community" going to field their own storied 442nd RCT?

2. An Iraqi government official

So, what's its gonna take to raise an Iraqi Arab Legion, something we could use for our mutual and transnational interests?

1. To the Iraqi in the US:

Do you believe the Iraqi government is doing all it can to stabilize and unify the country so that you may one day soon return?

2. To the Iraqi government official:

Do you have any short or medium term goals to establish a peaceful, diplomatic relationship with Israel?

Same question for both notional people:

What will you do if Saddam walks?

For the Iraqi official:
1) Which will happen first -- DC voters get to vote for representation in congress or Iraqi's get to vote for a representative in their national congress?

2) Is this important to you?