unosdostres14 said:
Yes, it was safe to walk down a street in Baghdad prior to 2003. A man could go to the market to go buy some vegetables without fear of being blown up.
Your comparison to D-Day is very valid. Often times people have had to die in order for progress to be made (Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWII etc.) The only problem is that, like in Vietnam, people died in vain. I believe this is the same. As long as the US is there, terrorists will try to kill Americans and cause havoc in the nation, thus making us stay there for longer. Thus leading us in a positive feedback loop where more and more deaths pile up.
Yes, if the man was in the good graces of the regime, he might be able to go about his business without having worry about himself or his families. But that was not the case for everyone that lived in Baghdad at the time, and while they man could go to the market without problems, others were being exectuted and raped in Saddam's torture rooms and chambers.
Most people in Baghdad then were in fear of saying or doing the wrong thing, knowing that could mean imprisonment, execution, or rape by the government. The Security services, there were 12 of them, would always be watching people. Some of the security services would in fact be spying on the other security services. Thousands of citizens of Baghdad were murdered by Saddam while he was in power, and the whole city lived in fear of what Saddam and his security/military might do to them. This culture of fear was something that Saddam had designed, for it prevented any sort of serious uprising from the people.
The US and coalition forces that died in Vietnam died for a noble cause. The only problem was that the United States abandon Vietnam after it pulled its troops out. Had the United States continued to supply South Vietnam with military supplies and aid them with military support when necessary, South Vietnam would still be an independent country today and millions of lives would have been saved. In 1972, one year before the United States completely pulled out, the South Vietnamese military with US airpower, successfully defeated the largest North Vietnamese offensive that had ever been launched to that point. The United States only had advisors on the ground at this point, and the United States limited role at this point confirms that had this limited role continued for a few more years, South Vietnam would have been able to successfully defend its self from the North.
If the United States leaves Iraq, the terrorist ability to cause more terror and destruction would grow wildly. The terrorist are killing far more Iraqi civilians and military personal than American troops. The terrorist are primarily Saddam loyalist who want to return Saddam's Bath Party and Regime to power. They want to control the entire country again like they have for the past 3 to 4 decades. The Kurds, Shia and some Sunni's want democracy and a better way of life, the terrorist though do not want this and want to establish Sunni control over the entire country again.
Pulling out US troops will only enable the Saddam loyalist to kill and terrorize more people. It will allow them to destroy the Iraqi military before it is built and to destroy all the succesfull moves towards democracy made by the new government and the people of Iraq.
The majority of Iraqi's support having the coalition in the country to defend them and support the new government and drafting of the new constitution. 8 million of them went to the polls to vote in the elections back in January to support the process that the coalition has designed for the country to get back on its feet.
The terrorist will not stop, regardless of whether there are US troops on the ground in Iraq or not. If Iraq is to become a democracy and have a prosperous country, the coalition troops must stay in the country for years to 1. develop and train the Iraqi army so the country can defend itself from the terrorist. 2. Help the new government develop politically, intervening to negotiate when arguements occur among Iraq's three main ethnic groups. 3. Continue the process of economic development of the country in all area's because success here will have a positive effect on the political process and will help to defeat the terrorist. 4. The coalition must remain in the country to provide the security and protection the the Iraqi's are unable currently to provide for themselves.
You only hear about the road side bombs that kill people. For everyone that does kill someone, there are hundreds of roadside bombs that are found and dismantled by well trained US and coalition troops every day. With out their services, the death toll in Iraq would be far worse.
Remember what Bosnia looked like in the mid 1990s, ethnic cleansing and over 250,000 murdered. Pull out before the mission is accomplished and that is the best environment the Iraqi's will be able to have, but its most likely that the situation would be far worse than anything that happened in Bosnia.
We hold both Najaf and Fallujah and have for quite some time. 
And I'm not being sarcastic either. Problem with that solution though is the same one W's dad faced. *Maybe* you could take him out; but his sons, his generals, and his inner circle would still be in power. He's not the danger; his government is. And again, really, I don't know how feasible it would have been. Look how long it took for the entire army to find him; a single assassin would've had a much more difficult time. Saddam was waiting and ready for an assassination attempt from us. 
