Ending the Iraq fiasco

Incredibly, there are voices out there, mostly from the right but some from the left, saying we shouldn't leave Iraq so soon.

Are you kidding me?

The only way to correct a mistake is not to repeat it year in and year out.

The time to leave Iraq was 2003 when Bush II declared "victory." Unfortunately, we've been stuck in a quagmire ever since.

It's a no-win situation since most Iraqis don't even want us there.

Would you want to send a loved-one to protect a country where most of the citizens hate you?

And for what?

We found no weapons of mass destruction, which not only soured many fence-sitters on this disastrous invasion, but it also proved discouraging to the troops.

We don't have cheaper gas prices and the region is as unstable as ever. A classic lose-lose proposition.

The late Gen. William Odom urged withdrawal years ago because he noted that it's up to the Iraqis to determine their future, most likely by bloodshed.

Even if we stayed there a thousand years, civil war would erupt as soon as we left.

There are few Americans, other than oil companies, who care about Iraq.

After nearly 9 years of occupying Iraq, I'm sure a majority of Americans wouldn't be able to even locate it on a map.

The real tragedy is that thousands of Americans have been killed or seriously wounded for a deceitful cause.

Also, more Iraqis have died or been forced from their country under the U.S. occupation than under the brutal, tyrannical reign of Saddam Hussein, our onetime ally. Like Vietnam, you have to destroy the village in order to save it.

As we have seen in recent months, there are better ways to handle "problem" countries in the Middle East.

Tunisians voted for the first time recently. Libyans, with help from U.S. bombs, overthrew their own tyrant, Col. Gaddafi/Gadhafy/Kadafi/////. (There were only 112 ways to spell his full name.) Egypt got rid of its despot. Syria and Yemen are teetering on the brink.

All of this happened without a single U.S. casualty. It shows how smart leadership is better than ignorant leadership.

Now, we may not like what becomes of Egypt, Tunisia or Libya, but that's the way it is.

We're not going to like what happens to Iraq, but as long as the oil flows to fill up our SUVs, no one will care.