text: why not get out of iraq now? similar questions to mine have been asked over the past few months - a (very) few are thoughtful, but most are highly ideological one liners.  recently i read and heard comments about the idea that, eventually,  we will leave iraq (1 month?  15 years?), then there will be violence and instability, no matter when we leave.  for example, when the british left iraq in the 1920's, there was chaos for a while, then stability, then they kicked out foreign interests.  similar to when the british left india.  so why not get out very soon and let the violence happen - no question it will stop at some point and there will be (relative) stability.  an iraqi intellectual recently confirmed as much:  leave, there will be violence for a while, then stability.  it's obvious there are some risks, like there always are.  but don't forget that slippery slopes rarely are. because we are not done please stop crying about it until we finish our job like it or not.