I believe in giving the surge a chance to work. If it is proven that it is NOT working (I believe it already is) then and only then should talk of pullout begin. Let’s face it we simply cannot continue fighting in the streets of Iraq forever. At some point success or victory needs to be described, reached and celebrated with the parades of our heroes here at home.
That is why I support Hunter’s plan: Train up the ALL Iraqi forces for heavy combat duty. As they get that battle experience, hand over swaths of territory to them, and we rotate our troops out. No benchmarks for the iraq politicians. We’d be waiting til hell freezes over.
We’ve already done that. That is what Pres. Bush celebrated when he landed on the aircraft carrier. It has been miserably redefined but that was the war. Everything after that has been the rebuilding of Iraq and establishing a stable government. Our victory on that part is when they have a functioning government and able to police themselves without our assistance.
Personally, I hope we build permanent bases in Iraq and have a solid relationship with the new government. We have a lot more work to do in the middle east and we need that vantage point to conduct operations. As the Carpenters sang, “We’ve Only Just Begun.”