Exit Strategy? NOT!

There is a nightmare going on right now in Iraq, where the Shi'ite led government of Malik al-Maliki is imploding before our eyes. And because we have no troops in-country, there is nothing we can do to prop up the man we supported after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

The insurgents we fought for several years after Saddam was defeated have resurfaced to bring havoc and fear to the people of Iraq, the moms and dads who just want to go to work, or take their kids to school, or shop at the local markets. Just like you and me. And Maliki is powerless to stop it.

Al-Qaeda has re-emerged, too, in cities where countless Americans died to free Iraqis from the horrible, fearful lives they lived, when Saddam persecuted his opponents. Fallujah and Ramadi are now pretty much controlled by al-Qaeda and its supporters. Sunni Anbar Province is about to fall to the insurgents and al-Qaeda, and when it does, al-Qaeda will be able to claim victory over the "Great Satan" which is the USA. Osama bin-Laden's promise that Anbar would be our graveyard would become a reality.

But that's not all. What do you suppose will happen in Afghanistan when we leave? If Iraq is any indication, by 2016 or 2017, Kabul and Kandahar will look like Baghdad and Ramadi. The Afghan people will be like sheep being led to slaughter when the Taliban and al-Qaeda retake control after we leave. And if you think they won't, open your eyes and face the reality that we screwed up big time across two administrations.

Both Presidents Bush and Obama made mistakes in judgement, as all of us do, that cannot now be reversed. There is no "Oops Factor" available in these wars. And who will suffer? The people we have left behind.

To the Bush supporters, understand that history is proving we should never have gone into Iraq in the first place. We had no business imposing our moral judgement on a people who had no understanding of Jeffersonian Democracy. And once we realized there were no WMDs, we should have left, not stay and nation-build.

And to the Obama supporters, your guy isn't a saint, either. First, it was the height of stupidity to announce our end date, so far in advance. Then, once bin-Laden was captured, in Pakistan no less, the primary mission was accomplished. So why did we stay? To nation-build? How is that working?

He is as guilty as Bush in this regard. If you say he isn't, then neither is Bush. You must face the fact that he made as many errors of judgement as Bush did. I call on the media to finally admit that. But, based on past performance, they won't. Because they fail the Profiles in Courage test. You know the one, where you stand up and admit you are wrong, on your reporting and your assessments of both Presidents.

But, sadly, this recrimination will not help the Iraqis or the Afghans. These people will be persecuted for supporting the Americans against the tyranny they lived under before we arrived, and most assuredly, after we leave. And the reality is, neither Maliki or Karzai were any better than what they replaced.

Iraq is showing us what will happen in Afghanistan. It's not pretty. But it is the reality. And unless we are willing to go back into both countries with all our military mighty to fix our mistakes, which we aren't, Vietnam will be a small glitch to what we leave behind in these two countries.

And that is our shame.