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Continued US military presence in Iraq will not secure peace. It will continue to inflame the populace, which wants us out. It will also give the Iraqi government a continued excuse to make no attempt to unify the country. If the definition of madness is to continue to do the same thing while expecting different results, then "staying the course" in Iraq is madness.

Does the US have any moral obligations to Iraq? Absolutely. Our unprovoked invasion of Iraq has destabilized the country and lead to massive bloodshed and sectarian violence. We owe it to the Iraqi people to try to minimize the damage we have caused. To that end:

1) We should be doing whatever it takes to get the United Nations to place a peace-keeping force in the country.

2) We need to work with Iraq's neighbors - including Syria Iran and Turkey - to develop a multilateral solution to stabilize the country.

The resultant political solution in Iraq will almost certainly be one we won't like, whether it's a Shia-dominated theocracy or a partitioned state rife with internal tensions. But transforming Iraq into a Jeffersonian democracy is no longer an option - if it ever was. The only question left on the table is how to minimize the loss of life. And keeping U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq is not the way to achieve that goal.

Learn more about this author, Scott Knickelbine.
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