Who is "they"? "They" is those whom the American invasion and its political aftermath has placed temporarily in power (so to speak) in Baghdad. The survival of those individuals depends on a continued American military presence to protect them. No wonder "they" don't want the US forces to leave! ;-) I guess I wouldn't either, if I was in their position.

Similarly, Karzai's survival in Afghanistan depends on the continued presence of foreign troops from the USA, Canada, and the UK to protect his administration. Without them, he wouldn't last long. The Taliban and the tribal warloads would be fighting over the place and Karzai would soon be dead or have fled the country.

Face it, these are puppet governments created by foreign intervention. They are doing what all puppet governments do, because their continued survival is dependent upon the puppet master who created them.

That's the way it was in South Vietnam too. The American puppet master finally left, and not too long after that Saigon fell and the Vietnamese puppet show was over. The same thing will happen in Iraq and Afghanistan when the foreign armies leave. It won't be Communism that makes it happen. It won't be Al Queda that makes it happen. It will be plain old conventional nationalism that makes it happen, and when it does, the local people will be back in control of the situation (for better or for worse).