Democrat Against the War Now Against Withdrawing Troops

Brian Baird is a Democratic Congressman from Washington State who voted against the Iraq war from the beginning. He has penned an Oped for the Seattle Times explaining why he is now against troop withdrawal.

Key graphs:

“The invasion of Iraq may be one of the worst
foreign-policy mistakes in the history of our nation. As tragic and costly as
that mistake has been, a precipitous or premature withdrawal of our forces now
has the potential to turn the initial errors into an even greater problem just
as success looks possible. . .

“Despite the enormous challenges, the fact is, the
situation on the ground in Iraq is improving in multiple and
important ways.

“Regardless of one's politics or position on the
invasion, this must be recognized and welcomed as good
news.

“. . . to walk away now from the recent gains would
be to lose all the progress that has been purchased at such a dear price in
lives and dollars.

“From a strategic perspective, if we leave now, Iraq is likely to break into even worse
sectarian conflict. The extremist regime in Iran will expand its influence in Iraq and elsewhere in the region.
Terrorist organizations, the people who cut off the heads of civilians, stone
women to death, and preach hatred and intolerance, will be emboldened by our
departure. In the ensuing chaos, the courageous Iraqi civilians, soldiers and
political leaders who have counted on us will be left to the slaughter. No
American who cares about human rights, security and our moral standing in the
world can be comfortable letting these things happen.

“Our citizens should know that this belief is shared
by virtually every national leader in the Middle
East. There is also near-unanimity among Iraq's neighbors and regional leaders that
partition of Iraq is not an
option.

"You may think you can walk away from Iraq," I was told by one leader. "We
cannot. We live here and have to deal with the consequences of what your nation
has done. So will you eventually, if the Iraq conflict spreads and extremists
bring us down as well."

“Progress is being made and there is real reason for
hope. It would be a tragic waste and lasting strategic blunder to let the
hard-fought and important gains slip away, leaving chaos behind to haunt us and
our allies for many years to come.”

Read the whole thing

HT: http://www.instapundit.com/