Meant to note this exchange on CNN last week. Kyra Phillips and Michael Ware–John McCain’s nemesis–were just back from Iraq:

CHETRY: And as we talk about solutions, and we talk about — would all of us, all the American troops pulling out help the situation?
PHILLIPS: No. No way.
WARE: Gee, no.
PHILLIPS: It would be a disaster. I mean, I had a chance to sit down with the minister of defense, to General Petraeus, Admiral Fallon, head of CENTCOM. I asked them all the question, whether Iraqi or U.S. military.
There is no way U.S. troops could pull out. It would be a disaster. They are doing too much training. They are helping the Iraqis not only with security, but trying to get the government up and running.
I mean, this is a country of let’s make a deal. There’s so much corruption still. If the U.S. military left, they have rules of engagement, they have an idea, a focus, it would be a disaster.
WARE: Well, even more than that, I mean, if you just want to look at it in terms of purely American national interest, if U.S. troops leave now, you’re giving Iraq to Iran, a member of President Bush’s axis of evil, and al Qaeda. That’s who will own it.
And so, coming back now, I’m struck by the nature of the debate on Capitol Hill, how delusional it is. Whether you are for this war or against it, whether you’ve supported the way it’s been executed or not, it does not matter. You broke it, you’ve got to fix it now. You can’t leave, or it’s going to come and blow back on America.
PHILLIPS: The U.S. owns this. And that’s a very interesting point that you bring up about Iran.
Everybody keeps talking about a timeline. Is the U.S. winning this war? They have to start talking about other issues, like the influence of Iran.
I mean, every single day there are munitions and training and advice and support coming from Iran. I mean, they do not want the U.S. to have any presence there.