This week General David Petraeus is to give his “State of Iraq” to Congress. It is being reported in headlines across the country that he is unlikely to recommend troop cuts in Iraq. Some seem to be surprised by this, as if they expected half of the troops to be called home and a timetable established for removing the rest of them. Anyone who expected such a result must have had their head in the sand for the past year.

General Petraeus is a highly capable and forward thinking General. His plan for and subsequent carrying out of the troop surge last year is looking like it will go down as the decision that changed the War in the favor of the United States, this war’s Gettysburg if you will.

Gen. Petraeus is smart enough to know that drawing down US troop levels too soon could prove detrimental to all of the progress made over the last year. Certainly, things are much more stable than they were a year ago. Iraqi troops are more capable and the Government is slowly (very slowly) making progress on some key issues. However whatever progress has been earned does not yet justify a troop draw down.

Continued US presence at current levels for at least the next six months, if not year, will demonstrate to the Iraqi people that the United States is not being driven by politics in their case, that the US is committed to securing Iraq for the betterment of her people, and sends a strong message to Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and other insurgent groups that they will continue to be pursued and hunted out of their hiding spots.

Certainly, a vast majority, if not all, of Americans want the troops home as soon as possible. I fall into that camp. However attaining such a goal is not worth it at the expense of further destabilizing Iraq and the region. The United States must not leave Iraq to the likes of radicals who would set up another Islamic Republic or, heaven forbid, a Taliban-like state. Both of these outcomes are quite possible if the US leaves too soon.