Now that military efforts in Iraq are coming to a close, ISU experts say rebuilding the Iraqi government will be a slow and complicated process.

James McCormick, professor and chairman of the political science department, said humanitarian and political efforts need to succeed in Iraq.

“In terms of rebuilding the government structure, the humanitarian effort must come first, getting the lights and water on,” he said. “I think one of the things that has to be done is to figure out how to gain some legitimacy among the Iraqi people.”

Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, said it will take at least five years to establish a democracy in Iraq.

Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the United States has not adequately prepared for post-war reconstruction.

On Monday, Retired Army Gen. Jay Garner arrived in Baghdad to help oversee the reconstruction in Iraq. Recently appointed to his position by President Bush, Garner said his first priority is to re-establish water and electricity in Iraq.

But also on Monday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the United States does not plan to set up a permanent military presence in Iraq to maintain peace in the country.

McCormick said rebuilding Iraq will model U.S. efforts in rebuilding Bosnia in 1995. He said it will be important to establish a central government in the federal system and to have local leadership from within the country.

Charles Dobbs, professor of military history and assistant to ISU President Gregory Geoffroy, said establishing new leadership in Iraq will be complicated.

“Do you use internal folks or [do] you use an external leader? Who will the Iraqi people accept?” he asked.

Several nations have said they will support the peacekeeping efforts in Iraq, while the United Nations could also be involved in the process, McCormick said.

“In terms of conducting elections, you’ll have to have some outside forces and that seems to be where the United Nations can play an integral part,” he said.

McCormick said Iraqi support of U.S. efforts in their country will depend on the effectiveness of the future Iraqi government.

Robert Baum, associate professor of religious studies, said the Iraqi people will support U.S. efforts if they are permitted to make their own decisions about their government.

“I think they would like the United States to maintain the peace while they develop their own form of government,” he said. “Even if it’s something they would want, if it comes from us, it would be of suspicion.”

Baum said some of the Shiite Muslims, which hold a majority of the population over Iraqi Sunnis, have said they would like some Islamic influence in the government.

“I think there’s a certain degree of suspicion of whether we are open to Islamic influence in the government,” he said.

McCormick said he believes the United States will remain in Iraq throughout the rebuilding process.

“It’s likely there will be some lingering elements of an international force,” he said. “My own view is the United States presence will be relatively long-term.”

Some of the confusion over the rebuilding process is because there is no designated Iraqi representative, Dobbs said.

He also said opposition from Sunni Muslims may complicate the situation. Saddam is Sunni, Dobbs said.

“They’re afraid, having enjoyed total power, that [by] giving everyone in Iraq equal power, they’ll lose some of their power,” he said.

Another difficulty in rebuilding the country is its $300 billion of external debt, Dobbs said. He said the United States has to decide whether to pardon the debt or make Iraq pay it off.

“If anyone says to you, ‘there’s a simple answer,’ they’re being simplistic, I believe,” Dobbs said. “It’s a very complicated situation … Americans like things to be a bit more simple, and sometimes life just isn’t simple. But, I think in the long run, this will work.”

— CNN, The Washington Post, The Guardian and The New York Times contributed to this article.