This is the most concise and apt summary of our current choice in Iraq that I have seen. From Tim Grieve, proprietor of Salon.com's "War Room":
[E]ither the war in Iraq is the central front in the "decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century" or it isn't. If it is -- and if there's a chance of winning it -- doesn't it make sense to flood the zone with every last resource we can muster? Raise taxes to pay for the war effort, reinstate the draft and send every last soldier we can muster to win a decisive, "shock and awe" sort of victory that will wrap up the battle of Iraq in short order and send an unmistakable message to the rest of the world.
And if it isn't? That is, if the war in Iraq isn't really the central front in the "decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century," or if it is but can't be won anyway, then how can you justify maintaining current troop levels there, let alone sending 20,000 more troops to fight in a cause that is either A) not important enough to fight big, or B) not winnable even if you do?