It's Over

Britain in correct. It is time to declare the job done and start ebbing the troops out of Iraq. The Brits are going to send Prince Harry over so he can get his toes wet and claim some combat experience. We should not mock Harry though, especially compared to what our would be Prince George did to avoid going to Vietnam.

Other than the sheer numbers, the main difference between what the British face in South Iraq and what the US troops face in the middle of the country is Shia and Sunni violence against each other. But refereeing that almost 1400 year old dispute never was part of our commitment in invading Iraq. The WMD did not exist, nor was there a Saddam al Qaeda connection. The brutal dictator has been overthrown and executed.

Granted we may have reignited the Sunni-Shia conflict with our inept occupation and granted there are al Qaeda types now among the multitude of insurgents and criminals operating in Iraq, but we cannot put out the Sunni-Shia fire we stirred up. That is up to them to do themselves, with the help of their neighbors in the region and other Muslim nations outside the region. The al Qaeda leaders that enabled the 9/11 attacks are in Pakistan and Afghanistan. If we want them, we need to try harder in those nations. And if our leaving from Iraq were to result in bin Laden setting up camp there, he should be a lot easier to catch in the desert that in the mountains where he is currently hiding.