"Exit Strategy" is one of those terms that gets bandied about so often that it loses all meaning -- like "jingoist," "compassionate conservative," or "synergy." There are a lot of people -- supporters of the Iraq War and detractors alike -- who keep hooting on and on for somebody to come up with an exit strategy of some sort. Some of these people have their hearts in the right place; others just want a shot at getting into a newspaper story or a CNN newsclip.
There are two great problems with the idea of an "exit strategy" from Iraq. The first, of course, is that there already is one. Turning over the Iraq government to an Iraqi interim government was the first step. Holding elections was the next. Forming a government and drafting a new Constitution will be the next step. All the while, training Iraqi troops and trying to stop insurgents is the foundation upon which these steps are being built. When Iraq has a security force that can defend the people of the land, then we will exit. Until then, leaving the country is no "exit strategy," it's an invitation to civil war.
The second problem, as I see it, is that most people don't really want an "exit strategy." No, they want a date to circle on a calendar somewhere -- "on the 15th, Janie has an orthodontist appointment, on the 18th there will be no more coalition troops in Iraq. " That's ridiculous.
I did not support the US invasion of Iraq. The merits of the invasion can be debated until we all run out of oxygen -- but the idea of giving our enemies a timetable for leaving that they will use for propaganda purposes is really not debatable in my opinion. Telling the insurgents when we are leaving would allow them to lay low and stockpile weapons, formulate plans -- generally, it would be giving them a zero hour for all-out civil war. This sort of thing will cause the deaths of more Iraqis than the US military ever has.
There IS an exit strategy in place in Iraq. It just depends on the willingness of the Iraqi people to be able to govern themselves and control their own criminal elements. Putting a date on such a thing is out of the question."