Time to Make a Move In Iraq

With the violence in Iraq only escalating it's fair to say that we must consider all options supporting a withdrawal. We're well beyond the point of a clean break. Any resolution now is only going to involve cutting our losses and licking our wounds. We helped Iraq get into this mess and we're going to help them get out of it, but all efforts will be squandered without a plan.

The suggestionof a timetable for withdrawal deserves serious consideration. Time and again our highest-ranking government officials have made it clear that war and timetables don't mix. The words of Jim Webb paraphrasing Dwight Eisenhower still ring true, "Anyone who tells you we can set a timetable for withdrawal doesn't understand war." On the othr hand, there is a valid argument that the situation in Iraq may be an exception.

Some fear that a U.S. exit from the Middle East will only bring more chaos and a greater, regional struggle for power. But what we need to consider is that no one would benefit if Iraq fell into complete anarachy. Not even Syria or Iran. It would only lead to more violence involving territorial disputes and massive numbers of refugees spilling into surounding regions. If Iraq were to collapse the violence and instability would only increase and spread. This is why wecan call on Iraq's neighbors to helpus stabilize a crumbling nation.

A number of leaders from the Middle East have been asking for timetables to govern a U.S. withdrawal. If we're wise in our ways we can use this leverage to our advantage. If Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia want us to consider a timetable they have to first gaurantee and carry out affirmative border control. So far these three countries have only contributed to the killing by allowing foreign fighters to cross their borders with little resistance. It's time we apply pressure to the wound and stop the bleeding.