Out of Iraq, Now!

Well, that is it. I know that I have urged many times against precipitously pulling our troops out of Iraq. I know that I have repeatedly urged us to stay the course due to fears that departure could lead to a bloodbath. I know that I have multiple times pleaded with many people that the price for abandonment would be vastly greater than the blood and treasure that we are currently spending staying in Iraq.

However, let the word go forth from this time and place that I was wrong. Deeply wrong. I now profoundly and deeply regret advocating this course of action. I now state firmly and irrevocably my reversal on this critical issue. We must get out of Iraq. Now!

Why the sudden reversal? Why the change of heart? No, I have absolutely no empirical evidence that staying the course is now the wrong thing to do. I don’t need empirical evidence. I have better than that. MUCH BETTER.

Angelina Jolie has written an editorial in the Washington Post urging us to stay the course. See?

[WaPo] My visit left me even more deeply convinced that we not only have a moral obligation to help displaced Iraqi families, but also a serious, long-term, national security interest in ending this crisis.

Today’s humanitarian crisis in Iraq — and the potential consequences for our national security — are great. Can the United States afford to gamble that 4 million or more poor and displaced people, in the heart of Middle East, won’t explode in violent desperation, sending the whole region into further disorder?

What we cannot afford, in my view, is to squander the progress that has been made.

Now, you might think that a foreign policy based upon a knee jerk reaction opposite of what Angelina Jolie thinks that we should do is crazy. However, I guarantee, GUARANTEE, that following this policy will lead to the correct decision 99.9999% of the time. Therefore, I can only say, all evidence to the contrary, we must get out of Iraq. Now.