Paul Krugman today on leaving Iraq:
Representative John Murtha’s speech calling for a quick departure from Iraq was full of passion, but it was also serious and specific in a way rarely seen on the other side of the debate. President Bush and his apologists speak in vague generalities about staying the course and finishing the job. But Mr. Murtha spoke of mounting casualties and lagging recruiting, the rising frequency of insurgent attacks, stagnant oil production and lack of clean water.
Mr. Murtha – a much-decorated veteran who cares deeply about America’s fighting men and women – argued that our presence in Iraq is making things worse, not better. Meanwhile, the war is destroying the military he loves. And that’s why he wants us out as soon as possible.
Key point:
Pessimists think that Iraq will fall into chaos whenever we leave. If so, we’re better off leaving sooner rather than later. As a Marine officer quoted by James Fallows in the current Atlantic Monthly puts it, “We can lose in Iraq and destroy our Army, or we can just lose.”