So if we pulled out of the Middle East, what would the probabilities be?

[Chathamization]

52. We were told years ago that we couldn't leave Iraq because it would fall apart and there would be

mass violence. McCain said that we had to stay to keep things together. Obama said that our military involvement couldn't solve a political situation, and that the US should leave even if mass violence follows. Many on the left supported the latter view, and fought to end the occupation even as neocons argued against the terrible consequences of pulling out.

Were Obama and those of us on the left advocating for withdrawal wrong? People here are starting to sound like McCain.

Obama:

This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our economy, and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st century. By any measure, our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe.

You can't solve the underlying problem at the end of a barrel of a gun. There's got to be a deliberate and constant diplomatic effort to get the various factions to recognize that they are better off arriving at a peaceful resolution of their conflicts.

McCain:

Is Sen. Obama unaware that al Qaeda is still present in Iraq, that our forces are successfully fighting them every day, and that his Iraq policy of withdrawal would embolden al Qaeda and weaken our security?

the Democratic presidential contenders deny progress and see only gloom and doom. Where is the audacity of hope when it comes to backing the success of our troops all the way to victory in Iraq?