Leaving Iraq Without Leaving Iraq in Chaos

Determining the right course for the Iraq war has become a polarizing issue during the presidential campaign.  According to How to Leave a Stable Iraq, with the right strategy in place the United States will eventually be able to draw down troops without sacrificing stability.  To deal with the new problems and to guard against any revival of the old ones troop reduction should be “ modest until after Iraq gets through two big rounds of elections—in late 2008 at the provincial level and in late 2009 at the national level—which have the potential either to reinforce important gains or to reopen old wounds.” If current trends continue, the United States may be able to start cutting back its troop presence substantially in 2010, possibly even halving the total U.S. commitment by sometime in 2011, without running excessive risks with the stability of Iraq and the wider Persian Gulf region.  [RJ]