Troops down, violence up

Gee, you think there might be a trend here?

"Iraq violence up as troop levels drop"

WASHINGTON - Since the US military began reducing its troop presence in Iraq three months ago, several key indicators of violence in the troubled nation have risen, according to new military figures released this weekend, sparking fears that security gains hailed by the White House are already eroding.

The rise in violence - blamed on both Shi'ite militants and Sunni extremists allied with Al Qaeda - has prompted war critics to argue that President Bush's surge of 30,000 more troops last year, designed to stabilize the nation, merely postponed the inevitable deadly chaos that will follow an eventual US withdrawal.

I believe the withdrawal speaks for itself, independent of the surge. If we withdraw before Iraq is stable, we lose. We admit defeat (yes, even though Harry Reid did it ages ago for us!). If we believe that we are "postponing the inevitable deadly chaos" of a tumultuous region, we again lose. That is an admission that there is no hope, there is no forseeable solution to the fight.

It's not rocket science, people.

If we pull out- and I fear if Hillary or Barack are President, when we pull out- the war will come back to our soil faster than you can say "end the war."

The surge was working. Why can't we just let it.