Quote Originally Posted by medicinal
I fail to see the logic in staying.

Well, I don't like that this stupid war was started in the first place, but I'd say there is a logic in staying now. The people who are fighting the U.S. may be made up of angry youth, but the leaders of such insurgent organizations are essentially gangs and criminals. Anybody who would send car-bombs into a crowded marketplace and blow up 80 innocent people is pure evil. And those same people, with the weapons and human power they have, would overthrow a government that hasn't fully established its security. Then we get another Saddam in power, and probably something worse.

Now are we stuck in another Vietnam? I'd say so. Is the situation even more conmplicated? probably. Can the U.S. even win this war and eventually bring and end to it.... and at what cost? It's almost impossible to say. Bush got us into a real shitstorm and I don't see a way out, but now that we're in we might as well do our best bring the best situation out of it possible.

Also, I could easily see Iran arming insurgent forces to take power and instal a sharia-law government friendly to Iranian interests. I don't even want war with Iran unless absolutely necessary, and I think there's even a lot of good people in both civilian and government, but IMHO Sharia law is the worst thing to happen to middle eastern culture in recent history.