Are you kidding, it's one of the major fault lines between McCain and Obama. He's got to execute a full but orderly pullout within a year. There isn't going to be a civil  war because basically the Iranians have infiltrated the govt and will keep the lid on. Paradoxically the main domestic beneficiary of a pullout will be the Republicans. Iraq is an incubus that's doing the huge harm. Take it away and they are strengthened.

is not a diary. Opinion is not fact.

I imagine it will be pretty ugly in Iraq after we leave.

However:
a.  It is pretty ugly there now.
b.  This in no way changes if we leave soon or if we leave a long time from now, IMHO.

Thank you for your concern...

I don't particularly like slogans, but this one is fitting here.

No blood for oil.

Sen. Obama is not stupid he would never withdraw troops precipitously. It is a good strategy for winninng the caucuses. He wanted to make sure the party activists are with him.

"the moment we withdraw, all hell is going to break loose."

Uuhhhhh...Iraqi kids have been in Hell and dying since we invaded. Even forgetting the killings, rapes, loss of women's right and general breakdown of civil (secular) society...we still haven't gotten even things like electricity and garbage pick-up back to pre-invasion levels.

I don't know how you define hell, but the Iraqis are in hell and can't get out as long as we are there.

For one...did you notice how stable prices were before Mr Bush took us into Iraq and Chaney had Exxon and Chevron write our energy policy?  Is this just coincidence?  If it looks like sh*t, smells like sh*t, then it is sh*t.

Of course if we or Israel attack Iran I would expect it to go even higher, probably $200 per barrel, which subsequently is what Bin Laden was praying for as he said it would ruin our economy and he is right.

I think the smartest thing to do is follow some plan like the bypartisan commission recommended to do and once Iraq is stabalized and we are out, their oil production will increase due to security and sabotage attacks not being such a big issue.

First, withdrawing troops within a year would mean doing it by 2010 at the absolute earliest. Call it due to the surge, call it due to the awakening, call it whatever you want, but the fact is that Iraq is getting much safer. It is NOT, however, making any political progress. Setting a timeline to withdraw troops (without holding off on providing crucial financial and moral support as happened in Vietnam) would help make that happen.

Meanwhile, Iran is the very reason that Iraq is a winning issue in this campaign. It appears ever more likely that we will be forced into war with Iran at some point. Maybe not this year, maybe not even the next, but unless there is a government upheaval, we face a government that is intent on a fight. Leaving our troops in Iraq only does them a favor, because it leaves us not only stretched from a military and fiscal perspective, it makes us weary as well. We need to be well-rested in the event of a war, because there's a decent chance that Iran won't do it alone. Russia's been looking for a fight as well, you see.

So yes, Iraq is a winning issue. We just have to make everyone realize exactly what John McCain said is true. There may well be other wars. We can't be fighting three at the same time. If we're worried about Iraq destabilizing following an orderly withdrawal, what about a hasty and panicked withdrawal?