Withdrawal from Iraq now will be less painful than years from now

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Withdrawal from Iraq now will be less painful than years from now

November 26, 2006
BY TED GALEN CARPENTER
The U.S. mission in Iraq has now lasted longer than America's involvement in World War II. That should be an occasion for sober reflection. In less than four years -- from 1941 to 1945 -- the United States and its allies managed to defeat two of the most powerful militaries in the world. By contrast, today, we are still mired in an endless conflict in a single small country after the same amount of time.

Those who helped get America into the Iraq quagmire denounce any proposal for withdrawal as "cut and run." Now that we have passed the World War II milestone, we must demand that the hawks be specific about their strategy. Vacuous statements such as "we will stand down when the Iraqis can stand up" or "we must stay until the job is done" will not suffice.

Except when the survival of the nation is at stake, all military missions must be judged according to a cost-benefit calculation. Iraq has never come close to being a war for America's survival. It was an elective war -- a war of choice, and a bad choice at that. How much are Americans willing to pay in blood, treasure and toil to try to prevail in Iraq?

The costs have already been staggering. We have spent more than $340 billion, and the meter is running at more than $7 billion a month. The loss of life is even more horrific. Nearly 2,900 American troops have perished, and the Iraqi government estimates that 150,000 of its citizens have died in the carnage.

And there is no end in sight. Not only did America's involvement in World War II last less than four years, it was obvious well before the end that the Axis powers would be utterly defeated. In Iraq, the security environment is worse today than it was when the U.S. occupation began in the spring of 2003. The Sunni-led insurgency against U.S. forces is now merely one component of an increasingly chaotic situation. The upsurge in sectarian violence is an even larger problem, and it has undeniably embroiled the country in a civil war.

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