I agree we don't have much choice but to stay and get Iraq on its feet again. It will certainly be extremely costly in myriad ways, but there are benefits as well from the new Iraq. To name just a few: it is no longer necessary to maintain a No Fly Zone, thus saving billions; no longer needing to maintain forces in Saudi Arabia, thus no more thorn in the Islamist Fundamentalist's side. Greater security for Israel, thus its greater willingness to negotiate Palestinian statehood. Israel has a big friendly American army on the other side of Jordan and Syria now. It's got to make them feel a little better about their strategic situation.

Whether we can force feed western-style democratic capitalism to Iraq and the rest of the Arab World is a more important issue ultimately than how much it costs to do it. If it succeeds the benefits will dwarf the costs. But it is an extemely risky strategy. It is also extremely (and in my view unacceptably) risky to maintain the status quo. Tyrannies are breeding grounds for extremists. If democracy succeeds Arabs in the coming decades will enjoy the freedoms and opportunities that we in the West have. There is an opportunity cost for everything but freedom is no small thing. Monarchies and dictatorships have no place in the 21st Century. We succeeded in transforming Germany, Italy and Japan. Perhaps with a several decade commitment we could do the same in the Middle East, and the world would be a much safer place..