Reply #13: Oh. To me, "stay the course" [View All]

has become synonymous with those who throw around terms like "genrational commitment". Though I opposed the war, I thought a two-year commitment seemed fair when Baghdad fell -- but that was based on the premise that we would begin transitioning to Iraqi self-government immediately. So should they ever begin that transition, I still put a two-year cap. By the end of that time, I would like to see all American troops having been withdrawn to the deep desert as insurance against a coup d'etat, and most of them already sent home.

The bottom line is that either the Iraqis will form a consensus government (and I believe they will) or they won't. The current strategy seems to be impeding that development, so I'm in favor of beginning a pullback as soon as the Iraqis have a forum for arguing about what should fill the vaccuum. If they don't want to do that, then I don't see continued American policing as an effective long-term solution.