mary garvey-It's not that simple. The theoretical resources to do something and the ability and willingness to coordinate it are completely different things, even before you count in the effects of outside interference. There are hundreds of countries with the same resources as Iraq, many of which have suffered much less from war and tyrannical government, and have yet to raise themselves to par with so-called First World countries. We can hope that Iraq will not stay in that category too long, but it is by no means certain.