We CAN'T cut-and-run.
Osama Bin Laddin himself said Americnas were "soft". Muslims and Islamic society is a war obsessed society and cutting and running is out of the question. To loose face by leaving at this juncture would endanger what little respect tehy might have for us. At this point it isn't much. It was quite a bit after Shake and Awe.
Equally out of the question is let things remain as they are. We should use Iraq and Afghanistan as military bases to take out the Baathists in Syria and the Ayatollahs in Iran. Iraq will never be secure with the Ayatollahs running Iran and the Baathists in Syria.
THEN leave and let them deal with the mess THEY hace cerated in Syria and Iran.
I agree. There's no way we should leave.
IMHO, the problems we are having there are the result of having to fight a PC war. We should simply have made the entire country submit and then made them all live in peace and free of their dictator for a few years until they got a taste for it, all the while keeping Iran and Syria at bay.
We should stay - but we should change our approach. Whether the Iraqis like it or not, they need us or they will have no country. Whether we like it or not, we have to finish what we started and we have to finish it well, but that may mean no more Mr. Nice Guy.
Propaganda assault suggestion for the State department. Have Someone say to the Arabic press in Arabic, "The US remains unalterably opposed to Bin Laden's crusade." The use of the word crusade is deliberate.