How Long Do Americans Have to Stay in Iraq Until Iraqis Stop Killing Each Other?

In this op-ed piece in the Washington Post, Stuart Gottlieb argues that America can't leave Iraq because if it does, there will be a blood bath similar to what happened in Rawanda. This is not a easy point to ignore. Our toppling of the Hussein government caused a power vacumn that has led to the sectarian violence that has killed thousands of Iraqis. Yet, while it created that vacumn, it didn't cause the sectarian violence. That is, the killing of Shia and Sunni Iraqis by each other wasn't the only response that they could have made to the overthrow of the Hussein government.

Given that fact, the question becomes how long do we stay in Iraq hoping that Iraqis will quit killing each other? What is the moral responibility of America in this situation? Is it fair to ask Americans to lose lives and money because Iraqis want to kill each other and don't seem to want to stop? Should American troops be sacrificed just to stop sectarian violence in Iraq?

These are not easy questions, and the answers aren't obvious. Those who want American troops out of Iraq have to face the fact that sectarian violence may increase upon American troops leaving. Those, however, like Mr. Gottlieb have to face the fact that they are advocating an open-ended commitment with no apparent timetable for an ending of this war.