text: should we leave iraq? in my opinion, it will be total chaos, the 'good' iraqis and their fragile new govt will get slaughtered.  how do we clean this up? we have to stay there now to finish the mess we started, my honest opinion is that we should have never started it in the first place, but were in over our heads now. we lost over 2,500 soldiers  and if we just pull out nothing would have gotten accomplished. its a catch 22 eaither way you go