MB Civic

By Michael Abramowitz and Karen DeYoung | Thursday, April 10, 2008 | The Washington Post

“…n deciding to leave behind a large presence of U.S. forces in Iraq at the end of his term, President Bush has made clear that he believes he will be doing the next president a favor, with more troops boosting the chances that his successor will inherit a more stable country.

But many leading Democrats — and even some Republicans — worry that the president is squandering a unique opportunity to pressure the Iraqi leaders toward critical political compromises. Democrats, in particular, believe that Bush’s decision to embrace Gen. David H. Petraeus’s recommendation to postpone further troop withdrawals this summer could backfire, leaving the next commander in chief with an overstretched military and a more intractable political situation inside Iraq.

The time to begin a withdrawal is now, Susan Rice, a senior foreign policy adviser to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), said in an interview yesterday. ‘The longer we stay, the more Americans die and more costly this becomes in lives and treasure,’ she said…”…BS

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/09/AR2008040903701_pf.html