OBAMA'S ELECTION WOULD UNDO ALL OUR IRAQI GAINS

NYTIMES: Big Gains for Iraq Security, but Questions Linger

What’s going right? And can it last?

Violence in all of Iraq is the lowest since March 2004.

The two largest cities, Baghdad and Basra, are calmer than they have been for years.

The third largest, Mosul, is in the midst of a major security operation.

On Thursday, Iraqi forces swept unopposed through the southern city of Amara, which has been controlled by Shiite militias.

There is a sense that Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s government has more political traction than any of its predecessors.

... Despite their newfound confidence, some senior Iraqi officials close to Mr. Maliki said that without an American military safety net they are vulnerable to threats from outside and inside their borders.

One important but less-noticed element of the security negotiations has been Iraq’s effort to extract an American pledge to defend the government against foreign or domestic aggression.

Mr. Adeeb, the top Maliki adviser, said officials wanted the Americans to protect the Iraqi government against anything the government viewed as a threat — not just what the Americans saw as a threat. “Our political system is weak, the terrorists and former regime members are sparing no effort to overthrow the system, and neighboring countries have their own ambitions,” Mr. Adeeb said. “Our army is not qualified to defend Iraq yet.”

THEY WANT AND NEED US TO STAY. OUR IRAQI ALLIES. THE 25 MILLION IRAQIS WE LIBERATED.

• WE NEED TO STAY IN IRAQ TO HELP IRAQ STRENGTHEN THEIR DEMOCRACY AND THEIR CIVIL DEFENSES.
• OBAMA WOULD HAVE US ABANDON THEM AS THE DEMOCRAT DOVES DID SOUTH VIETNAM IN 1975 - TWO YEARS AFTER THE LAST US COMBAT TROOP LEFT VIETNAM.
• THAT LED TO A MILLION IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS, MILLION OF BOAT PEOPLE FLEEING, AND POL POT'S GENOCIDE AGAINST 3.5 MILLION CAMBODIANS.
• IRAQ WOULD BE WORSE.
• THIS ALONE IS REASON TO DEFEAT OBAMA.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY.