I'm in agreement with Gene Healy on the Congressional authorization of force against Iraq. Planning for the day after the war is just plain wishful thinking.
Further, there are plenty of folks just as bad or not much better than Saddam waiting in the wings to take power. We really have no one to turn operation of the government over to when we leave. For all of his faults, Saddam has kept the religious extremists in Iraq pacified and semi-quiet. The destabilization following our war will present plenty of opportunity for extremism to spread, which of course will prolong our stay.
Our prolonged presence as a result of destabilization will, of course, anger the surrounding nations, which will breed more terrorism, which will cause us to invade more countries in order to stop it. It's like that old drug war commercial with the man who abused cocaine – so he could work longer hours – so he could buy more cocaine…
We're held hostage while the Administration plays nation-builder. Enjoy the further crackdowns on civil liberties, not to mention potential terrorist strikes, once the bombing starts.