Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in Iraq?

For a long time, it was an article of faith on the Left that the U.S. lost the war in Iraq. The trouble was that the long-delayed surge in American troop strength engineered by Gen. David Petraeus, the new DCI, reversed the situation to the point that it seemed  very likely that in fact we would wind up winning- that a stable, more-or-less democratic government would end up firmly in power, and that- as much as it might hurt the Left to have this happen- George W. Bush's policy in Iraq would end up being vindicated by history.

Can't have that, can we?

A while back, it became an article of faith on the Left that the war in Afghanistan was unwinnable. The trouble was that another Petraeus-engineered surge beat back the Taliban and put the Allies on what looked an awful lot like the road to at least short-term victory.

Then President Obama dismayed our military leaders by deciding to withdraw the Afghan surge troops by next summer, severely endangering our chances of keeping Osama bin Laden's protectors and allies, the Taliban, from re-taking power.

Now, reports circulate that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has signed off on a plan to bring all but 3000 American troops home from Iraq by the end of the year. Even ultra-Leftist Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) thinks it's a mistake. And military experts question whether there would even be any point in leaving such a small number of troops in Iraq.

Panetta says that President Obama has yet to decide on the plan. But if the President agrees, and chaos (and the Iranians) end up triumphing in Iraq, it will be Mr. Obama's responsibility. He will have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in Iraq, just as he will have done in Afghanistan if the situation there turns sour after his premature withdrawal there.

Nobody disputes that we need to disengage from both wars, especially given their cost and the current financial situation of the government. But throwing away the lives and resources we've poured into both wars when we're iterally on the brink of victory would be a tragically inept move even for the Obama administration.

Let's remember this if and when the extremists on the Left (and Ron Paul) start saying "I told you so."