While the invasion of Iraq was hamhanded, bloodthirsty, misconceived and wasteful in the extreme, the question remains what it will evolve into after the troops from the US leave.

There is a good possibility it will degenerate into armed factionalism.

There are sect militias that have been kept in check and in hiding by the presence of the US forces there and their actions following the pullout are unpredictable.

The capability of Al Qeda to revive is not clearly known.

Foreign Policy magazine discusses the imponderables of Iraq's future.