I know the overwhelming consensus on Daily Kos seems to be in favor of an immediate withdrawal from Iraq (as soon as is practicable in a safe and orderly manner). I'd like to believe this is the best course of action-- I certainly don't want to be sharing Iraq policy with the president-- but I nevertheless find myself deeply uncomfortable with the logic of withdrawal. I do not believe we are "winning" or that a win/loss logic is even applicable at this point. I do not believe the status quo is acceptable, and am horrified by the toll the war has taken in lives and resources, both American and Iraqi.
So I ask in the spirit of honest inquiry (please don't flame me for this)-- if we leave, what happens to Iraq then?
[Edited for spelling]
At the outset of the war, Colin Powell laid out the "Pottery Barn Rule"-- you break it, you've bought it. While Pottery Barn doesn't actually apply this rule, the principle still stands. We bear the moral debt for this undertaking and its consequences.
If we leave, I fear the escalation of the civil war, outright genocide and the potential of a wider war in the middle east, should Iran and Saudi Arabia become involved. I fear an even greater toll of civilian casualties.
The best thing for America is very likely to leave. What's the best thing for Iraq?
Do we not have a responsibility to exert every resource within our power to mitigate the destruction of that country, regardless of the cost to us?