ABSTRACT
The intense and often violent embroilment of the US-led coalition in the politics of sect and class, of regional ambition and religious authority, within Iraq has served as a powerful and often tragic reminder that radical political change is a disorderly and tortuous process, in which the possibility of failure is ever present. The good intentions underlying the process on the part of political leaders, officials and the wider circle of participants count for much less than one would have hoped, particularly when the overall goals of a very large majority of the relevant political agents are not in conflict with one another.
