Wouldn it be better to see whether the U.S. troop surge works?
No. First, the troop surge is not a panacea — after it was first announced in January of 2007, more U.S. soldiers went on to die that year than any other year of the war.8 According to the New York Times, militia and insurgent attacks averaged 80 per day in November of 2007, virtually unchanged from three years earlier.9 Second, regardless of how successful the surge proves to be, Iraqis live in a sovereign nation and are therefore entitled to decide whether foreign troops remain.
