Why the US should stay in Iraq

Should the US government set a target date for getting out of Iraq? Of course there are the pacifists who were against the war from the beginning, and want the USA out ASAP - no mater what the consequences. There are those who were against the war from the beginning, but understand that a US troop withdrawal will create a killing field between the majority Shia Muslim population, the Sunni Arab minority, and the Sunni Kurdish minority. There are those who were against the war, but understand that a US troop withdrawal, will be viewed by our enemies as an admission of defeat, and will serve to encourage them to move their suicide bombings and car bombings Westward in the hope of spreading their perverted version of Islam. Lastly, there are those who don’t believe that the general Arab/Muslim population are capable of grasping the Western value system that is essential to fertilize a real democracy, namely freedom of speech, the rule of law, and the concept that all men (and women) are created equal - and therefore we are fighting a lost cause and should pull out.

On the other hand, there are those of us who believe that it is no “coincidence” that over the past 5 years, Muslim extremists have committed horrendous acts against humanity (terrorism) across the globe (Moscow, Bali, New York, Philippines, Turkey, Spain, etc.) where there are no obvious Muslim territorial grievances, just a barbaric quest for religious and political dominance. There are those of use who believe that we have no choice but to drag a majority of the Arab/Muslim world into the 21st century in the hope that they are capable of intellectualizing and adopting the civilized values that define our modern world - and will eventually police their own extremists. I don’t think anyone is envisioning an Iraqi democratic country to resemble Norway, much less the USA, but something more along the lines of Turkey or Indonesia.

What would we risk by withdrawing from Iraq with our tail between our legs? Take a look at Israel’s heavily debated withdrawal from Lebanon. The general Arab world considered it an Israeli defeat, rather than a strategic withdrawal, and the same fighting tactics used by the Lebanese (car bombs, etc.) were exported to areas in the Gaza and the West Bank. The US should stay in Iraq until the Iraqi armed forces are capable, and then we should declare victory and bring our boys home.