A tentative timetable for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

• Author: Kristof, Nichlas D.
• Position: OPINION

How do we get out of Iraq? Immediate withdrawal risks abandoning the country to civil war and chaos. And staying the course indefinitely inflames nationalistic resentment and feeds the insurgency. So what should we do? My vote is to set target dates for withdrawing our troops. I suggest we announce that we intend to pull. out at least half of our troops by the end of 2006--and the last soldier by the end of 2007. We should also pledge not to keep any military bases in Iraq. Will this work? I'm not sure. But a tentative timetable does avoid many pitfalls. The insurgents have traction only because many ordinary Iraqis share this hostility to American troops...