Why we should leave Iraq

Robert Parry makes the case:

Washington’s conventional wisdom on the Iraq War is roughly divided into two camps: those who still think George W. Bush’s invasion was a good idea and want to “stay the course” – and those who opposed Bush on going to war but now say “we must get it right.”
Both sides – representing nearly the entire political spectrum in Washington – rule out a prompt U.S. military withdrawal because that supposedly would turn Iraq into a “failed state” and a “breeding ground for Islamic terrorism.” Therefore, the thinking goes, U.S. troops must remain while Iraq builds a democracy that can stop the extremists.
But there is a case to be made for U.S. withdrawal as the best option for both resolving the conflict and neutralizing the foreign Islamic extremists in Iraq. A corollary of this thinking holds that the continued U.S. military presence does more harm than good.