McCain and others have talked about the need to win in Iraq, to let the troops come home with a victory. I suppose this kind of language makes sense if we are talking about a football game, but I'm really not sure how "winning" applies to Iraq.
The war ended when Bush announced "Mission Accomplished." From then on, this has been an occupation.
So, how exactly do you win an occupation? Is it won when the U.S. has secured control over the natural resources that belong to the Iraqi people? When U.S. corporations have made a certain amount of profit from the curious economic activity of blowing up infrastructure and homes and forcing the victims to pay them to rebuild it? When ethnic and religious differences have been used to divide a once united country? When the Iraqi people have been so demoralized and have so completely lost hope that they stop resisting?
Americans should not want to "win" in this situation. Leaving Iraq (all troops, all contractors, and all bases) isn't about winning or losing. It's about finally doing the right thing--by international law, by American law, and by basic human decency.
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