Staying in Iraq

I've been listening to the Diane Rehm show, with top-notch Iraqi experts like Michael O'Hanlon, Tom Ricks, etc.

Michael O'Hanlon is, as in the past, on board with the neo-cons in desiring and expecting a democracy to develop in Iraq. Out to lunch.

The others are more realistic and do not expect great things to develop. Basically avoiding a civil war or regional war (let alone world war) of some kind, while keeping Iraq out of Iran's clutches, would be the best that could be achieved, with a strong man developing who can keep basic law and order.

The interesting thing is that Tom Ricks, a Iraq skeptic from the beginning, made it clear that a precipitous pullout could be a disaster for the country, the region, and the world.

This got me thinking. We have had our troops in countries around the world for over 65 years now, since WWII. Why will Iraq be any different? It is a crucial country in the Persian Gulf oil region, so why would we let it go to hell through instability, when so much rides on the world's (and America's) ability to import oil from that area.

The biggest problem is that the Iraq War let loose an anti-Americanism around the world and especially in the Muslim World that damaged us greatly. Add to that the current economic crisis which basically started in the U.S., and you have a whole lot of pissed off people outside the U.S.

Could it be that Obama's plan is to try and patch up things with the rest of the world, while basically remaining in Iraq, for the reasons stated above?