Yup, FtP, that's purdy much what is going to happen on the "military side"... And that is reality... We have proven over and over that there is no military solution to Iraq... Many of us, as Chief Chaos has pointed out, saw this coming... I know I did and my feeling's are archived here in Mudville...

But ending the occupation doesn't mean washing our hands of Iraq like we had to do in Vietnam... This is where the State Department comes into play where we engage Iraq's neighbors in negoitiations to assist in the "human consequences" of our military withdrawl... This is where the wok needs to begin...

And the Iraqis understand that "the world [will be] watching" and so it is to their interest to play as nice as they can in the midst of their civil war... This is where Obama's pledge to talk with the Iran's (without preconditions) is a step forward... The sabre rattling of the Bush/McCain/Clinton camps does not send out that message and therefore is counter-productive in insuring that neihboring countries become involved in helping with the "human" concerns...

This is a plan that sho nuff ain't perfect but it beat the heck out of "stay the course", or not leaving without "victory", both of which are terribly flawed and impossible... And it sho nuff ***ain't*** like Saigon...

B~