Jon Stewart celebrates our withdrawal from Iraq in 2011.

To be serious for a moment it is important to realize that this debacle had to come to a close at the end of this year regardless of what John McCain, the Bush administration, or the rest of the neo-con assholes said.

The UN Security Council's mandate comes to an end in December 2007, so the only way we can keep US forces, and civilian personnel, in that country is if Iraq gives us PERMISSION.

In other words the people whose country we invaded, whose economy we destroyed, whose friends and relatives we slaughtered, had to say "okay you can stay a couple of years more." Unsurprisingly they were not exactly on board with that idea.

But since America had the good sense to elect Barack Obama, Iraq decided that perhaps now they could have a reasonable expectation that any agreement they make with the US will be honored.

For a "died in the wool" Liberal like myself, staying in Iraq for even an hour longer then necessary makes my skin crawl, but like the Iraqi government I am willing to trust President Obama.

So Mr. Obama, I am sorry Mr. President, you better get this right. You have a lot of damage to our reputation to repair in that part of the world. And buddy, it aint going to be easy!