What’s wrong with cutting and running?

Lt.Gen. Odom
While I do not agree with some things Gen. Odom says, I do think he makes some very valid points here, and I agree with him on these points.

If I were a journalist, I would list all the arguments that you hear against pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq, the horrible things that people say would happen, and then ask: Aren’t they happening already? Would a pullout really make things worse? Maybe it would make things better. Here are some of the arguments against pulling out:

1) We would leave behind a civil war. 2) We would lose credibility on the world stage. 3) It would embolden the insurgency and cripple the move toward democracy. 4) Iraq would become a haven for terrorists. 5) Iranian influence in Iraq would increase. 6) Unrest might spread in the region and/or draw in Iraq's neighbors. 7) Shiite-Sunni clashes would worsen. 8. ) We haven’t fully trained the Iraqi military and police forces yet. 9) Talk of deadlines would undercut the morale of our troops. But consider this:

What’s wrong with cutting and running?

Everything that opponents of a pullout say would happen if the U.S. left Iraq is happening already, says retired Gen. William E. Odom, the head of the National Security Agency during the Reagan administration. So why stay?

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