Reply #34: First of all, I am not willing to have my family pulled into the venture.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

Second, either continued presence or overwhelming presence (military or mercs) still amounts to an occupation which the natives naturally loathe. So, the assumption that immediate withdrawal will absolutely end in disaster is one of many assumptions that may very well be the less correct among them. There is NO reason to dismiss the assumption that the Iraqi people have the capacity to form a workable government and re-build their own country. Of course, economic restitution will be required and is a just action considering we are completely responsible for the present state of that nation. Ensuring the money does NOT end up in the hands of the most corrupt and incorrigible would be a good thing.