It's Time To Leave Iraq

If you can read this headline:

45% Of Iraqi Citizens Think Suicide Attacks Against US, Brits Justified

and still think that being in Iraq is a good idea and will end successfully for the US you should seek professional help RIGHT NOW.

The chance for the US to make any real progress has long been lost. It was lost in the torture rooms of Abu Ghraib. It was lost in the rubble of bombed out schools in Fallujah. It was lost in the newly filled graveyards of Tikrit. The hearts and minds of the Iraqi people are long lost and so is any opportunity for the US to actually achieve anything meaningful in Iraq.

• Forty-five per cent of Iraqis believe attacks against British and American troops are justified - rising to 65 per cent in the British-controlled Maysan province;

• 82 per cent are "strongly opposed" to the presence of coalition troops;

• less than one per cent of the population believes coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security;

• 67 per cent of Iraqis feel less secure because of the occupation;

• 43 per cent of Iraqis believe conditions for peace and stability have worsened;

• 72 per cent do not have confidence in the multi-national forces.

The numbers don't lie. It's time to leave Iraq. Invading was a mistake. Having no plan for occupation was a mistake. And allowing the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people to slip away was the biggest mistake of all because once lost they can NEVER be regained.

There is nothing wrong with making mistakes. Just don't respond with encores.

It's time to leave Iraq.