You can pay an Iraqi to be a soldier, but,

[mistermack]

It takes god to make him fight.

They take the money when it's on offer, why wouldn't they? But they have very little interest in fighting for George Bush's legacy.

That's why the IS is going to end up in charge.
Democracy imposed by America never was popular. People have taken the money when there was a chance of it, but they don't want to die for it. Democracy simply doesn't match the middle-eastern temperament. They need a vicious dictator, who will rule by fear. They respect that.
That's what they had, and we killed him.

Funnily enough, Iran, the country most hated by the west, is actually the only decent sized country to maintain some semblance of democracy. It seems to take years, before it can work, even a little bit. Maybe the Iranians ought to take charge.

[JimC]

I could be a vicious dictator, if you paid me enough...

[mistermack]

I think all this ISIS business has put Turkey's chances of joining the EU back by at least 20 years.
Because Turkey has been allowing a porous border into Syria for any asshole that wants to fight the Syrian Govt. Originally, that was probably the plan, backed by the western governments.
But now that it's gone horribly wrong, they will quietly blame Turkey for letting these assholes in.

In any case, what EU country would want Turkey as a member, with the potential of all this happening there too?

Anyway, it's a good thing if Turkey doesn't get into the EU. And if they can't get in, many of the others might find the way blocked too, because Turkey is ahead in the queue.