If we pulled the troops

There were a few, the French were kicked out of North Africa, and the question is were they set up to contain the muslim fundamentism or was muslim fundamentism a response to it. Since Islam itself is a fundamentism religion then I see the first. Remember the British and Americans set up the Shah and he and his son were slowly leading Iran into the western world with full women's rights etc. If only we had a few more generations then the Shah's could have faded away with true democracy taking over and Islam would be more of a cultural thing, like it became in the west, and therefore not a religous threat to anyone.

 

The fundamental organizing principle in the US is liberty. The fundamental organizing principle in the middle east is Islam. You will no more undermine Islam and establish western style democracy than they could undermine our desire for liberty and set up Islamic fundamentalist government in the US. As long as folks like you don't get it, you'll continue to get American's killed in your Crusade.

 

Well, if the US troops were pulled out of Iraq, the other (arms bearing) members of the coalition couldn't hold onto the country. Radical Islam would spread and the swamp would be even more dangerous. We can't leave a small token force because sooner rather than later they would, well let's just say it wouldn't be a good idea with all the sharp objects still in the hands of the "NEW" locals, because all the regular locals have been gone since 2003. The only/obvious course of action is to GO LONG, GO BIG...