Kevin Drum sums up Iraq.

Two days ago, Kevin Drum had a post that began by discussing a CIA report which concludes that the situation in Iraq has resulted in a large increase of fund raising by Al Qaeda, but then he went on to sum up the current situation in Iraq overall:

Say it with me: We. Need. To. Get. Out. The sooner the better. Our presence in Iraq is doing nothing for Iraq itself, which is doomed to sectarian civil war no matter what we do. It's actively hindering the destruction of al-Qaeda in Iraq, which will almost certainly proceed more quickly and more ruthlessly once we leave. It's made Iran into a more powerful regional player than it ever could have dreamed of. It's produced a relentlessly worsening foreign policy catastrophe by swelling the ranks of Middle Eastern Muslims who support anti-American jihadism in spirit, even if they don't directly support al-Qaeda itself. And it's turned into a bonanza of recruiting and fundraising among those who do directly support al-Qaeda.

In almost every way you can think of, our continued presence in Iraq is bad for Iraq, bad for the Middle East, and bad for America's own national security. I can't even think of anything on the plus side of the ledger anymore, and every additional day we stay there only makes the ledger look worse.

We desperately need to construct a national security policy that actually addresses violent jihadism in a serious and effective way. We can't do that as long as we're in Iraq. That's why we need to leave.

Bingo.