An interesting article by the International Herald Tribune :

"The Bush administration's planning for a post-Saddam Iraq indicates a lack of realism about the magnitude of the task. The United States may make the same mistake that the first President Bush made in 1991: defeat Iraq on the battlefield and then hope for the best. This time, however, America will bear far greater responsibility for Iraq's future.

(…)

Underlying such strains is the fundamental schizophrenia of America's Iraq policy: its readiness for war while seeking to avoid associated risks and costs. Those most eager to send troops into Iraq are also those least disposed to engage in the messy and time-consuming exercise of cleaning up afterward. "

whole article :

http://www.iht.com/cgi-bin/generic.cgi?template=articleprint.tmplh&ArticleId=79106

I think there has been a lack of realism from the get go.

WE Love third world countries. We like keeping them third world. You can't fight when your scrapping for food. The name of the game is to keep this area as unstable as possible, so they don't band together.