Iraq the Next South Korea?

Evidence continues to mount that when America pulls out of Iraq it will be leaving sizable forces there for the foreseeable future. This from an article in the Washington Post today.

One of the guiding principles, according to two officials here, is that the is the United States should leave Iraq more intelligently than it entered.

If this wasn't such a serious subject, the above statement would be laughable. Yes, maybe it's time to actually have a real honest to goodness realistic plan on what to do in Iraq. But then again this is the Bush administration and how likely is that.

This from the article I find very disturbing:

Even as they focus on the realities in Iraq, officials here are also keeping an eye on Washington politics. Despite the talk in the U.S. capital that Petraeus has only until September to stabilize the situation in Iraq, some officers here are quietly suggesting that they really may have until Jan. 20, 2009 -- when President Bush eaves office -- to put the smaller, revised force in place. They doubt that Bush will pull the plug on the war or that Congress will ultimately force his hand.

It looks like the idea is to set up commitments that would bind the next administration to this new set up. The new set up would involve upwards of 40,000 US troops taking up residence in Iraq like US troops are in South Korea.

I don't think this is what the American people envision the "withdrawal" from Iraq being: essentially leaving almost 1/3 of the troops there. If this is indeed the plan, then the American people have a right to know about this sooner rather than later.

I have huge problems with this. The most basic being that the Bush administration and the military have yet to come up with a plan that has worked in Iraq. That should be worrisome to everyone.