Cato institute recommends Iraq withdrawl

In a "real" think tank, unlike the Heritage Foundation or American Enterprise Institute, the folks actually do think. And the Cato institute thinks the US should get the hell out of Iraq.

The U.S. military occupation of Iraq has already cost more than 3,000 American lives and $350 billion. In a new policy analysis, "Escaping the Trap: Why the United States Must Leave Iraq," Ted Galen Carpenter, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute, argues for a rapid and comprehensive withdrawal from Iraq. "It is time to admit that the Iraq mission has failed and cut our losses. We need an exit strategy that is measured in months, not years," says Carpenter.

"Withdrawal will not be without cost," Carpenter concedes. "We can minimize that damage by refocusing our efforts on al Qaeda in Afghanistan and elsewhere, but there is no way to eliminate the damage. Whatever price we will pay for withdrawing from Iraq, however, must be measured against the probable cost in blood and treasure if we stay."

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