To answer the rhetorical question, we do lose, big-time, but maybe not for good. But how much more blood and treasure will it cost is to go back? What's really at stake is our credibility and our faithfulness. If a bunch of murderous psychopathic ragheads can chase us out of Iraq, what good are we? Who will stand with us against the islama-whackos when we have shown we turn tail and run when the going gets tough? And I am in no way disaraging the troops, who have done a magnificent job. I am talking about the pusillanimous craven spineless politicians in Washington whose only concern is continuing their own reign.
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As I recall, being chased out of Afghanistan by the ragheads was the beginning of the end for the old Soviet Union. They never really recovered from that defeat. Our fate will be similar if we get chased from Iraq.