Vietnam II, the Search for an Exit Strategy

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

...the American people tried to get their leaders to get out of Vietnam because it wasn't our fight and because it wasn't worth losing tens of thousands of American lives over. The hawkish response was always the same. If we leave it'll be a defeat. It'll embolden the communists. It'll be the first domino on a track that will lead to the obliteration of Western ideals, democracy, apple pie and mass consumerism. How did we get back here again?

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White House officials are keen to portray the new policy as a compromise between two extremes. On one side are the John McCains of the world, demanding big numbers of new troops for extended periods in Iraq. On the other side are the antidependency Democrats, demanding a phased withdrawal, or a timetable for withdrawal, to shock the Iraqis into action. (The White House dismisses the third option of rapid withdrawal as simply a form of defeat.)

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The White House says the president will explain the consequences of defeat and withdrawal: bolder terrorists, civil war, conflict throughout the region.
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This just in: The United States is not good at occupying foreign countries.

The same column includes a breakdown of some recent Gallup numbers, including:

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Recent polls show it’s a tough sell. The latest Gallup poll for USA Today shows that 36 percent approve of the idea of “a temporary but significant” troop increase; 61 percent oppose the idea. The White House believes those kinds of numbers will decline once the president makes his case and rallies a Republican base that has drifted away from him in recent months on the issue of Iraq.
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That's two to one agin'it George. Try to keep up.