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Saddam Hussein has governed Iraq with an iron grip since 1979. His family's control has been so dictatorial that there are no real political institutions that might take over the running of the state if he were deposed. What could follow is a chaotic power vacuum.
Iraq has no serious internal opposition, and there are doubts about the various organisations that have set themselves as opposition groups in exile - some are badly run and disunited, others have no popular support in Iraq at all.
The army, widely seen as the institution keeping control of the country, may be the key to deposing Iraq's ruler and keeping the country in one piece.
Reports in the US press have said that the US administration is considering a plan to occupy Iraq and install a US-led military government as a way of avoiding the country's chaotic disintegration.
Three-way split?
Officially, Middle Eastern governments would rather see Saddam Hussein stay in power than face the prospect of civil war and the break-up of the country. If Saddam Hussein lost power it is possible that Iraq would fragment into three entities controlled by the Kurds in the north, the Shia Muslims in the south and Sunni Muslims in the centre.
The former US Assistant Secretary of State for Middle Eastern Affairs, Richard Murphy, told BBC News Online: "I believe one must plan not just for the disappearance of the regime but for what takes its place and what happens the day after."
Mr Murphy says that the US and others will need to help rebuild Iraq's economy and infrastructure after the ravages of more than 10 years of sanctions and the "wasting of the treasures of Iraq in the hands of its leaders".
"It is not clear to me that this has been thought about by the administration as systematically and carefully as it needs to be, which would be irresponsible," Mr Murphy warns.
Iraq's military
Due to the lack of viable opposition forces, Iraq's army is being seen as more and more important in plans to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
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