What to Do about Iraq Now, I

Prof. Douglas Feith, one of the planners of the Iraq war, deals with this issue in four points.  Here is the first.  
“First: Formulate a realistic goal–that is, a reasonable definition of success.  The achievement of stable democracy is not a sensible goal, because it is not likely to be accomplished in the near term.  It may be possible fairly soon, however, for Iraq to reach the point where, despite the inevitable ongoing problems of building a new society, its government can manage its own affairs with only a limited amount of outside help.  That is a realistic goal.” — Douglas Feith, War and Decision, p.522.