Iraq (stay or go?)

Well, there seems to be some confusion here. the media is portraying Iraq as a place where no one wants the U.S. (they also seem to forget that other countries are there too). But, the troops (most of them at least) are saying that the majority of the people there are glad that they (the troops) are there. The media claims that the Iraqi government doesn't want us there, but a recent article shows otherwise.

Quote :

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, briefing Iraqi lawmakers following his visit in June to Washington, urged them to approve the deal to keep U.S. troops here after the U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year.

Zebari said that if the negotiations fail, the only option would be to ask the U.N. Security Council to extend the mandate, and he encouraged legislators to sign off on the final version.

It was unclear how many lawmakers were convinced by Zebari's comments.

But the parliament speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, joked that the Kurds "are obviously for the agreement" and that the Sunnis and the Shiites secretly support it.

That would leave only Shiite followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as opponents "even if the agreement is for the benefit of Iraq," said al-Mashhadani, a Sunni.

Source

Looks like the government (or at least a fairly large part of it) wants the troops there.


Seems to me that the major groups against the U.S. (mainly) troops are
1) Iran
2) Terrorists
3) the U.S. civilian population (or at least the vocal ones and the media)

Quote :

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran says that, according to Iranian media reports, Ayatollah Khamenei had a blunt message for his Iraqi guest.

"The occupation forces, who have employed all their military and security power to interfere in Iraq's internal affairs, are now the main obstacle in the way of the Iraqi government and nation," he reportedly told Mr Maliki.

Iraqi security officials had also been expected to raise the issue of Iran's alleged covert support for radical Shia militias which have battled the US-backed government.

Source: BBC News


So, Do we stay or go?

Stay till it's done.

As long as the legitimate government still wants us there, and there is still a need, I say we stay.