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Even though the war in Iraq has gone on for far longer than anticipated, the US is now committed to helping the Iraq people reconstruct their government. If US troops would pull out now, it would leave a vacuum. That vacuum would probably be filled by al Qaeda or its operatives and leave the country worse off than they were before the US entered. We have a responsibility to finish what we started and to stand by the country until it can get on its feet. After having been under Sadam Hussein for so long, we should not be surprised that it's taking a while to get them to that point.

The US is now committed to helping the Iraq people reconstruct their government. To pull out before that is accomplished, would be criminal. It would be to leave them open to any and all rogue groups who could easily come in and take over. Despite the loss of life to United States troops, we cannot in good conscience pull back until the job is done.
Some say that our involvement in Iraq is causing the rising anger against the US in the world. I say the problem is much more than that and much less than that. It is more because people have disliked the US for a long time and fear our power. It is less because some of them need no real reason to hate us; they hate us because of who we are and what we have accomplished.

Every time the US leaves a job unfinished, they send a message to the world that they won't follow through. That makes them look weak and brings contempt in many quarters of the world. It's much like giving in to a child's tantrum. Every time you give in you teach your child that he or she can get their way by throwing a tantrum. It's bad for you, bad for your child and bad for society.

Instead of all this talk about pulling out, we could support our troops better as they finish the job they came to do. We could make sure they have the funding they need, and we could stop denigrating what they risk their lives to do. It infuriates me when anyone either misquotes a soldier or takes the words of one disgruntled soldier over the thousands who disagree with pulling out.

There is much more at stake here than these people realize. Political posturing for political position by denigration the current politicians is something that has been around as long as politicians have existed. If Bush wanted to pull out, people would be pushing to stay in just to be contrary.

No matter what anyone says or who did what for what reasons, to pull out of Iraq now would cost way more than the lives we've lost so far. Whether it should have begun or not is a moot point because it was begun. Now it must be finished.

Learn more about this author, Angela S. Young.
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