Exiting Iraq

Book excerpt: Within months of the United States and its coalition partners toppling Saddam Husseins government, the Cato Institute convened a special task force of scholars and policy experts to examine U.S. strategic interests in Iraq and to question the Bush administrations intention to 2stay as long as necessary. 3 The result of their efforts was a book of their analysis that was published near the one-year anniversary of the occupation -- Exiting Iraq. As the war now enters its fourth year, Exiting Iraq remains as clear and incisive as ever, with the added dimension of its being so prophetic in what it saw, predicted, and urgently recommended. In addition to the members (listed below) of the special task force calling for the military occupation to end they showed how the presence of troops in Iraq distracts attention from fighting al-Qaeda and emboldens a new class of terrorists to take up arms against the United States. Moreover, the report underscores how the occupation is enormously costly for American taxpayers, exposes our men and women in uniform to unnecessary risks, and undermines attempts to foster political and economic reform in the region. - Publisher.