Irak. Time for bold ideas.

Iraq, today stands as a patchy country, deeply divided between poor, risky areas and flourishing cities where the remains of the old mayhem can barely be noticed.

Sectarian strife is the scourge of the north and the south, but doesn't percolate in the midlands, where a timid trickle of foreign investment has done its best to gain sway over the area.

However, the private sector remains shackled because of the fear of a sudden and unexpected uprising of violence. The political logjam doesn´t help either. There is a numbing desire to change the institutions, along with a crude contempt against the status quo.

People are also divided between those who hold the opinion that the passage of US troops helped the country  topple the dictator, and those who contend that the ´allegedly´ good intentions for bringing peace are far outweighed by the mistakes and collateral damage.

It would now be the proper time for bold ideas seeking improvement and shaking up the established demeanor that relishes the lack of entrepreneurship and thinking outside the box.

In the meantime, whilst the citizens of the north and south continue to vex each other for sectarian reasons, in Shia areas, the so eagerly anticipated change, hasn´t so far taken off.

Let's hope the still, as of yet, democratic governments learn how to swerve toward the humble point of accepting that they cannot carry on on their own , otherwise the future will continue to look grim for a population that, inwardly, looks forward to becoming a place for opportunities and dreams to come.

What still remains unclear is the direction they are going to choose. Will they open their market and minds to the west, or, on the contrary, will they remain firmly tied to their convictions and old ways of thinking and rendering?

In a world broadly interconnected, giving the cold shoulder to the US, is an expensive bet. Nonetheless, should they choose to do so, they would not be alone. What they now have to think about is which neighbors they would like to share a table with; will those invited gobble up their burgeoning lunch. Let´s hope not.