What do we owe the Iraqis?

We’ve been in Iraq for five long, unpleasant, years. It’s cost 4000 American lives, unknown numbers of Iraqi lives, and countless hundreds of billions of dollars. I’m not sure I know anyone who thinks it was worth it, or who doesn’t want to get out of there as fast as we can. Senators Clinton and Obama say they’ll pull out quickly, regardless of the consequences. Senator McCain says we have to finish the job.

Colin Powell famously said that, “if we break it, we own it.” The question I’m asking today is, “What do we owe the Iraqi people?”

If, as everyone seems to believe, our departure means an immediate and bloody, three-way civil war in which tens of thousands more innocent lives will be spent, and in which the Iranians, Syrians, and possibly even the Turks are likely to involve themselves, do we have a moral obligation to stay until there is some reasonable semblance of stability and order?

Many people lament the damage the war has done to America’s image and moral stature around the world, but what will be the effect on our relationship with other countries if we leave Iraq in regardless of their ability to defend themselves? Will we be seen as trustworthy and responsible, or selfish and short-sighted? Will we be safer?