A GREAT QUESTION

Iraq: U.S. Policy and Iraqi Reaction
Jonathan Finer
Washington Post Foreign ServiceWednesday, November 30, 2005; 12:00 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2005/11/29/DI2005112901004.html

Washington Post foreign correspondent Jonathan Finer will be live from Baghdad on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at Noon ET to discuss Iraqi reaction to talk of withdrawal and Bush's speech. Finer wrote about Iraqi reaction to the U.S. military presence in Iraq in Wednesday's Post: U.S. Debate on Pullout Resonates as Troops Engage Sunnis in Talks

Anonymous: I'm confused. On the one hand the White House claims the insurgents have little popular support, and the al Qaeda types only make for a tiny part of the insurgency. On the other hand, Bush raises the prospect that if the U.S. leaves, al Qaeda will take over the country.
I'm sure the military wargamed the withdrawal scenario. Is a Zarqawi takeover considered a likely outcome?

Jonathan Finer: I think the prospect of insurgents actually being able to "take over" Iraq is probably remote. But the chances of a surge in violence if the U.S. withdraws is one plenty of people here take seriously. Others think the insurgency would lose much of its legitimacy and therefore its support if the U.S. left. Its a question policy-makers are grappling with, I'm sure.