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Senator Clinton's position on the Iraq war has been fluid. She voted for the war, and now is supporting movement toward withdrawal. If she crosses that Rubicon, she will be making a terrible mistake. The move may well serve her politically, but it would ill serve the country.

It no longer matters how we got into Iraq, we are stuck to that tar baby' and we can't let go. Withdrawal would show weakness at a time we need to show strength. Not necessary, military strength, but the national fiber that shows we can persevere over a pronged period of time. This is the weakness of any democracy. It is necessary to convince the public it is in their interest to support a pronged military action. It will take a decade or more, before the Iraq question will be settled.

We are faced with a Hobson's choice. There are no-good answers to the Iraq dilemma, only the choice between the bad and the worse options. Premature withdrawal is the worse of the two. Who would trust our word after bugging out on Iraq?

Many countries look at The United States, and see a country which won't keep its word, folding like a cheap umbrella when thing start getting tough. For good or ill, we broke our word to the South Vietnamese. That gets noticed by other countries. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.' It's hard to trust the word of a country whose leadership swings to the blowing wind of public opinion. Abandoning Iraq would give the impression, perhaps accurate, America is truly a "Paper Tiger." Then who would trust our word? It would be better to be our enemy than a friend. Friends wonder where America stands. Enemies know.

The withdrawal would affect Iraq, and Mesopotamia, even more than The United States. The region is a power keg fueled with oil. The Tigress and Euphrates would flow with blood. The region is full of religious fanatics and triable feuds. Iraq would become a free fire zone for the various factions in the country. Deaths would be in the hundreds of thousands, we would get the blame, and deserve it.

If Mesopotamia explodes, Europe will find itself at the mercy of Russia. Without middle eastern oil, Europe would have to turn east for fuel. Russia controls that oil, and the Russian government is sliding rapidly into authoritarian rule under Vladimir Putin. That essentially puts the hand of the KGB on Europe's oil spigot. The Western alliance and NATO could be split, if the European Union was blackmailed using Russian oil.

It no longer matters why we got into this war. Pointing fingers and assigning blame are useless, except for those seeking political gain. What matters is, how are we going to resolve this chaos without father diminishing our position in the eyes of the world, or allowing a massacre of Biblical proportions.

Learn more about this author, James E. Fish.
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