Reverse Domino Theory

One of the more preposterous claims of the Bush administration for wanting to invade Iraq was that toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein would result in a flowering of American-style democracy in the Middle East.  There would be domino effect, as one repressive government after another would fall in the wake of the blossoming secular democratic rule in Baghdad.  As we know, the violence unleashed by Bush’s Iraq War has had the opposite effect: a dramatic increase in sectarian violence and popular support for Islamic theocratic rule.  Lieutenant General William E. Odom, U.S. Army (Ret.) is exactly correct when we speaks of a Reverse Domino Theory in the entire region as a consequence of the US invasion of Iraq:

"Is the domino theory valid for the Middle East? No, not any more than it was in Vietnam. But a reverse domino theory is. The longer the U.S. stays in Iraq, the more likely the collapse of the secular regimes in those Muslim nations, and the more likely a full-scale war between Israel and its neighbors. It’s American departure from Iraq that could prevent it."

"Tied down and strategically immobilized by its entanglement in Iraq, the administration has no credibility with most of its major allies. Only after it withdraws from Iraq and admits its own complicity in this spreading crisis will it be able to help stem the tide it has set in motion. Why? Upon our withdrawal, our allies will be far more likely to respond constructively to a U.S. bid to design a joint strategy for restoring regional stability in the Middle East. Decreasing the likelihood of more radical (and possibly undemocratic) regimes emerging in the Middle East requires a coalition of the major states of Europe and East Asia. It is beyond U.S. power alone."

"The longer the United States keeps troops in Iraq, the greater that challenge will be