While this seeming end-in-sight comes as a relief, I doubt if anyone who supported the initial Iraqi invasion would have done so if they knew in advance we would be there 8 years, at a cost of 2 to 3 trillion dollars and over four thousand lives. When we finally leave, Iraq will not be that beacon of democratic freedom for the Muslim nations as we had hoped because the people cling to Islam and under Islam, freedom means perfect slavery.

WSJ: BAGHDAD -- U.S. and Iraqi negotiators reached agreement on a security deal that calls for American military forces to leave Iraq's cities by next summer as a prelude to a full withdrawal of combat troops from the country, according to senior American officials.

The draft agreement sets 2011 as the goal date by which U.S. combat troops will leave Iraq, according to Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Haj Humood and other people familiar with the matter. In the meantime, American troops will be leaving cities, towns and other population centers by the summer of 2009, living in bases outside of those areas, according to the draft...