This is a terrible position for the country to be in.

Let’s set aside the fundamental tragedy of today’s discussion: six years ago, immediately after the 9/11 attacks, would we have imagined that an open-ended anti-insurgent presence in a country that didn’t attack us
would be the proper response? But apparently we have let the question become: are things getting better rather than worse in Iraq, with an expanded US presence?
For the last year-plus, the real question remains: is there reason to believe that if we stay another year or two or three, the after effects of our withdrawal then will be enough better from today’s situation to justify the additional lives, costs, and friction of remaining committed through those years. There is more to say on this point, but before saying it I’ll wait to see some of what happened in the actual proceedingshttp://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com/