Trudy Rubin: An early challenge for Obama -- Iraq

Trudy Rubin is a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Dear President-elect Obama:

Among the first challenges you'll face when you take office is how to handle the Iraq drawdown.

You've lucked out. A sharp shift in U.S. strategy, along with a decision by Iraqi Sunnis to turn against al-Qaida, has led to an amazing downturn in Iraq violence. A surge in Iraqi nationalism pushed the Bush administration to sign a security agreement with Baghdad that calls for all U.S. troops to leave Iraq by the end of 2011. Never mind that you were attacked for proposing a withdrawal timeline.

Given all you have on your plate, the temptation will be to consider the Iraq war over. The U.S. public is tired of Iraq. Media coverage of the story is declining, as American broadcast networks and newspapers shut their Baghdad bureaus for financial reasons. Your Democratic base will press you to stick to your 16-month withdrawal timeline, and your military focus is already shifting to Kabul.

But Iraq isn't over. Too many Americans and far too many Iraqis have died for us to pull out with undue haste and watch Iraq slide backward.

Yes, the nature of our involvement in Iraq must shift substantially. But how you handle that shift will be as crucial as how you handle the war in...[More on WhyFame.com]