Endgame Viable

A BBC headline (“US ‘must suspend’ Iraq withdrawal”) reminded me that we have yet to hear the most important part of the surge plan: What’s the plan now that the surge succeeded and the extra troops are leaving again? What have we gained if Iraq descends back into violence again? At that point, withdrawal isn’t a question of surrendering to terrorists, it’s a question of surrendering to incompetence in the Iraqi leadership. I realize we made the Iraqi mess and we’re still responsible on some level for cleaning it up, but we obviously can’t run their government for them. We’ve given them tons of opportunities to secure their own country and they’ve squandered it all. It looks like the only way to stabalize Iraq is a permanent occupying force, but the longer we stay, the more we’re resented. Yet when we start pulling troops out, Iraq quickly turns back into the Wild West and oil prices go up even more. What a crappy situation.