Before the surge we couldn't leave because things would get worse if we did. And it's the same now...if we left now, things will devolve.

But it's right and natural that Iraqis want to take over their own government. YOu just have to be careful with the strategy. If we leave too soon, they're ripe for the picking and you end up with a mess like before.

We have handed over 9 of 18 provinces already. Things are going exactly the way they're supposed to.

__________________
Poor Spot! He was tired of being thought of as stupid. "I'm gonna join Mensa," he said to myself, "and then I'll be legally permitted to wear the society's insignia--a tattoo of a little map pin pushed into my flesh--and then everyone'll know that I'm not dumb at all!"
Spot Joins Mensa
by James "Kibo" Parry