Rich on the Road

Marks
You could certainly make a compelling argument that McCain's call for "the surge" helped Iraq get in a position where they felt they could go it on their own.
Rich

Rich,
The flip-side is that Obama can claim he was right regarding the pullout, which undermines McCain - though McCain can point to Obama's belief that Iraq was a civil war we were trying to referee.

Effectively, both McCain and Obama can claim victory while criticizing each other's judgment. Net effect will be zero-sum provided both campaigns handle it properly (not a given, especially for McCain - IMHO).

The anti-war left will clap the loudest in any case.

I find it funny that Maliki and some Iraqis want us to pull out. I wonder what they will be saying when their heads start to roll after we do pull out. It’s OK to talk big, but you better have a big stick to back it up. Once we pull out the Iraqis wont even have a twig.

That Iraq wants us out is both good and bad. It is good because we can utilize a "surge strategy" in neighboring Afghanistan.

It is bad in that I certainly do not believe that Iraq can manage on its own long until Iran swoops in.

Normally an optimist, I take the low road on this affair and believe Iran to be a definite target of war within 2 years or less.

Scotty, Marks and others,

The Iraqi government is back tracking a little now. Wire reports indicate - "Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the possibility of troop withdrawal was based on the continuance of security improvements, echoing statements that the White House made Friday after a meeting between al-Maliki and U.S. President Bush."

Maliki is still saying sooner rather than later but with the caveat that security continues to improve.

Rich