[jyl]

To date, the loss from invading Iraq is definitely greater than the gain from invading Iraq. I.e., the war to date has been a net loss. Unless you are deluded.

In my opinion, this war is never going to produce a net gain. The task now is to minimize the net loss.

I think pulling out of Iraq now will result in chaos and civil war as the country is torn apart into Syrian and Iranian client regions, anarchic areas ruled by Islamic terrorists, and a Kurdish region.

Thus to minimize the net loss, I believe we have to not only stay in Iraq, but increase our forces and expenditure, to get the country to some form of stability. I don't expect the resulting Iraq to be secular or pro-Western or all that democratic, but as long as it can more or less hold together, that would represent the "smallest net loss" that one can really hope for, out of this whole mess.