Determination high in the Bush administration to begin irreversible withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq this year is reinforced by the presence at the State Department of the most dominant secretary since Henry Kissinger three decades ago. Condoleezza Rice is expected to support administration officials who want to leave even if what is left behind does not constitute perfection.
Amid the presidential campaign's furious debate over Iraq, I reported last Sept. 20 ("Quick exit from Iraq is likely") about strong feeling in the policymaking apparatus to get out of Iraq in 2005 even if democracy and peace had not been achieved there. My column evoked widespread expressions of disbelief, but changes over the last six months have only strengthened the view of my Bush administration sources that the escape from Iraq should begin once a permanent government is in place in Baghdad...
Aw, phooey on him. For the US to leave Iraq in force would be to abandon the best strategic position that could be held on that half of the world. It projects massive power to the entire middle east, northern Africa, and central Asia. Anywhere else and the logistics and expense of force projection to these regions skyrocket. And give one one good reason *why* we should leave. Piker. |