Four years ago, the president and his defense secretary made the faithful decision to send too few troops to Iraq to secure the country.  That failure opened the door to the chaos of civil war and violence.  Iraq is now a failed state, and the surge of forces proposed by the president is too late to change that. 

We should begin withdrawing the overwhelming majority of our forces and transferring responsibility to the Iraqi military.  While this withdrawal should be gradual and orderly, it is clear to me that the policy of an open ended commitment in Iraq is morally and strategically wrong.

I also note that once again the president chooses to ignore the considered judgment of numerous members of his own party as well as his two previous military commanders in Iraq. Indeed, it appears that the opinions of General Abizaid and General Casey have contributed to their reassignment.