Exiting Iraq: Why the U.S. Must End the Military Occupation and Renew the War Against Al Qaeda, by a special team from The Cato Institute directed by Christopher Preble.#

This book discusses the problems with the war and occupation of Iraq and discuss why and how the United States can get out as soon as possible. Must of it will be familiar to someone who has paid a great deal of attention to this from the beginning. But it is a great summary and very detailed for one who may be less familiar.#

The book is very clear about its recommendation: Leave Iraq as soon as possible. Its assumptions are also clear.#

The other policy recommendations contained in this report are based on the presumption that American national security policy should seek to preserve American security, not remake other societies. The authors further presume that the leading threat to American security in Al Qaeda and its affiliated terrorist organizations that have demonstrated the capability and the intent to cause harm to American citizens and American interests, both here in the United States and abroad. The sole guiding criterion, therefore, for judging the success or failure of American policy in postwar Iraq is the relationship between the new government in Iraq and the anti-American terrorist organizations dedicated to our destruction. If the new government in Iraq welcomes Al Qaeda into its country, if the new government provides material support to Al Qaeda cells both in Iraq and abroad, if the new government seeks to obtain WMD, then our policies in Iraq will have failed. By contrast, if the new government of Iraq prevents Al Qaeda from operation within its borders; if the new government cooperates with U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies in identifying, tracking, and, where possible, eliminating Al Qaeda; if its pledges to develop and maintain military forces solely for the purpose of defending itself from threats, then our policy with respect to post-Saddam Iraq will have been a success. [p. 8-9]