The end of American military presence in Iraq is not the end of Iraq or the end of America’s interests in Iraq.  The worst manifestation of the Vietnam complex that has informed so many decisions about American policy in Iraq is the inherent conviction that Iraq will disappear into the dustbin of history once America leaves, as Vietnam did.

If partisan political bickering prevents us from recognizing the reality that Iran really has scored an important and damaging victory over the United States in Iraq through the failure of the these negotiations to extend our troop presence, then the prospects for any intelligent strategy to respond to that failure are dim indeed.

This month, Obama administration officials revealed plans to dramatically reduce embassy staff in Baghdad, the largest U.S. diplomatic mission abroad. Along with the announcement in December of the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq — the message President Obama is sending is clear: The sooner we put Iraq...

I wanted to be sure you saw the following two pieces by American Enterprise Institute (AEI) scholar Fred Kagan.In his Foreign Affairs Afghanistan piece, Kagan points out that:

The Iraq Effect is a thought-provoking but flawed study commissioned by the U.S. Air Force on the regional implications of the 2003 Iraq war. Trends discussed may be real, but their presence before Operation Iraqi Freedom suggests that they should not be attributed only to the war.

America's complete withdrawal of its troops from Iraq is a tragic mistake. It jeopardises the gains made by President Bush's (and Tony Blair's) eminently correct 2003 decision to overthrow Saddam Hussein, and risks the broader Middle East falling into chaos.

We interrupt President Obama’s celebration of keeping a campaign promise to bring you news from Iraq, where a political crisis has been unfolding since just hours after Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta departed on Thursday.

Serious Republican candidates should be able to agree that as president, they will reverse the Obama administration’s headlong rush for the exits in Afghanistan and Iraq.