GMTA

I have to admit I always thought he was underrated as a president. I suspect history will be kinder to Jimmy Carter than voters were.

Atlanta (AP, September 22) - Former President Carter said Wednesday that the apparent open-ended presence of U.S. troops in Iraq has contributed to the wave of hostage-takings and other bloodshed.

"A lot of political analysts have said that one of the main reasons the Bush-Cheney administration went into Iraq was to establish a permanent military base there," Carter said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I think this arouses a great deal of unnecessary opposition."

As someone else - ahem - said on July 10:

But the fact is, even if it's true that pulling out will not stop the bloodshed, it remains true that the bloodshed will not stop until we pull out.

Getting the hell out means all the way out: no troops, no bases, no "residual presence."