By the grim light of day...

We've clearly overstayed our welcome in Iraq, but Mithras goes further:

If you're still alive in Iraq, you realize that the Americans are going to leave, sooner or later. So, you focus on your ultimate opponents - other Iraqis, usually - and use the Americans as a shield or a sword or you ignore them, whichever makes sense in light of your aims.

Seems about right. What are we achieving with that surge again? Can we go home now??