July 29, 2009

        The American-led force in Iraq is formally named the "Multi-National Force--Iraq."  But that will change, because it isn't anymore.  Multi-national, that is.  The Iraqi Parliament left on summer vacation without extending  an agreement to let the British keep a training force of 100 in the country, so they'll be leaving this week.  The Australians, it's reported, will also be out by the end end of the month;  the Romanians, the New York Times reports, left last Thursday.  NATO will still have some people there, but they never were part of the Force.      So who's left?  You guessed it--just us lucky Yanks.      I never understood why we invaded Iraq in the first place.  Did we have an aim?  Weapons of mass destruction?  They didn't have any.  Big buddies with al-Qaeda?  Nah.  Was it to show we were tougher than out father, who threw Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait after he invaded it but then stopped?  Maybe. But in any case, we get to stay.  We're supposed to leave too, of course, by the end of 2011, but only time, as they say, will tell.  If we do leave, Iraq won't have any jet fighters.  It's asked us for some, of course, but our commander there says we couldn't deliver any by then.  That's a disappointment I can live with--more money not spent on this dumb war.      My own answer to what to do comes from an old country music lyric: "You got to know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away..."  The war has killed over 4,000 Americans so far.  Let's fold 'em, let's walk away and let's bring the rest home.   
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