The Welcome Mat's Been Pulled

One of the central arguments that the British and U.S. gummints have made about leaving the military in Iraq is that the actions our joint gummints have taken has been at the request of the Iraqi government. We are simply there to assist the legitimate government reassert control over the country until the Iraqis can themselves govern without falling into chaos. When the Iraqis ask us to leave, we'll leave. Simple as that.

Well, whether Smirk, Scowl, and Blair like it or not, the welcome mat's been pulled. While officially the Iraqi government has asked the U.N. to extend the presence of U.S. and British forces, actual legislators in Iraq strongly disagree. Regardless of the fact that officially their asses are covered by the U.N. missive, I'd say we've long overstayed our welcome, and we're wearing it out faster each day we remain in Iraq.

I don't see any benefits in staying; while leaving will undoubtedly create a vacuum of sorts, it's pretty clear the country is heading towards civil war, if it's not there already. There's been warnings of this for quite some time now, but of course agencies like the CIA can't be trusted, can they? Whether or not you like the CIA and agree that we need a spy agency, the CIA exists and the information it gathers can be valuable if used the right way. I'd say there's a very valid point here: the country is fragmented among the Shiites, the Sunnis, and the Kurds, and getting them to cooperate and pull together is going to be extremely difficult. It'll be interesting to see if the arbitrary deadline for the country's new constitution holds, or if it simply becomes the last straw and pushes Iraq further into chaos.

In any event, it's a good idea (probably won't happen though) if we start thinking seriously about an exit strategy. We have a previous, painful history of suffering severe consequences when we stay where we're not wanted. Exhibit A: Vietnam.