It is the American legal system that dictates that if you damage someone's property, intentionally or accidentally, you pay for it. So what is the rationale for pulling the troops from Iraq? I can give you lines of hyperbole on how tragic the war is, and what a terrible situation we are in, and it's all true — but pulling the troops would set a precedent for the United States to wash its hands of responsibility.

After World War I it was American business loans and American money that helped get Germany on its feet. Granted, the money dried up with the Great Depression and Germany suffered as a result, but there was at least some intention to fix what we broke. After World War II it was America that invested in the infrastructure of West Germany. The U.S. still has troops in South Korea to try and keep the peace there. We clean up after ourselves.

On top of that, stability is a huge factor. The religious war right now is being somewhat contained in Iraq by American troops; when Americans leave it is going to cause problems in nearby Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

It's been five years, five long years that probably never should have happened. It is going to take people smarter than me to come up with a solution to the conflict, but there are some steps we can take. Firstly, give the country control of its own oil; the nation is stalling on a constitution because the U.S. does not approve of the wording on oil. How can a government form any political strength when the U.S. is handcuffing itself to the oil rigs?

Secondly, don't force the democracy, set one up, try and make it happen but democracy has always been a slow evolution, these are nations which have been run a certain way for as long as humans have recorded history. It is America's ego that we know best that is preventing a natural government from forming and it is America's greed that won't relinquish our oil interests.

We can't withdrawal the troops but we could do more to make sure they don't stay as long.