Paul Krugman's recent column ("Time to Leave") is one of his best in quite some time -- and that's saying something. He eloquently makes the case for why we should leave Iraq, doing so without lots of emotional huffing and puffing but as is usual for him employing rational thought. It's unfortunate the column is now shielded via TimeSelect; it's a must-read for all.

To paraphrase some of it, he makes the point that only now with the public doubting nearly every word coming from GW/Cheney can we finally participate in "serious discussions about where we are and where we're going." Krugman states that Murtha rightly "argued that our presence in Iraq is making things worse, not better" and that "torture at Abu Ghraib helped fuel the insurgency."

Krugman asks "When, exactly, would be a good time to leave Iraq?" Hell, even Cheney and Rummy have publicly stated wildly differing opinions on this matter. Krugman concludes, "The fact is that we're not going to stay in Iraq until we achieve victory, whatever that means in this context. At most, we'll stay until the American military can take no more."

Finally, he cites a Marine officer who is quoted as saying, "We can lose in Iraq and destroy our Army, or we can just lose." I ask, where is David Brooks to paint one of his rosey scenarios based on gooey hopes and dreams (draped in the U.S. flag) -- noticeably lacking substantive facts or realities to support his concocted canvas?

The fact is GW/Cheney do not want to take the chance that things will be better off without us there; they're frightened as all heck. A civil war will destroy for good any chance of an upside to their legacy, it will destroy the illusion that an eventual win will come, but most of all turmoil and collapse will doom, or at least heavily complicate, access to the oil. Recall that oil was the point of the invasion.

So again, the good of the country (our's) takes a back seat to more insular and political concerns.

If you truly hate and detest this administration and want it to be forever etched in history as clear-cut abysmal, then you'll want to root for us staying in Iraq.