WHY WE MUST STAY THE COURSE

A rapid collapse of America's commitment to Iraq would:

* Create a power vacuum in the region. Ba'athist loyalists, terrorists (al Qaeda and others), Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Syria would rush to fill the void.

* Likely precipitate an Iraqi civil war between the Sunnis, the Shi'a and the Kurds. Iraq could be come another Bosnia, a country fractured by ethnic and religious civil war that has now been a ward of the international community for eight long years.

* Shatter American credibility worldwide, but especially in the Middle East.

Not to mention its effect on the War on Terror. Leaving before the job is done could also produce a new terrorist breeding ground: As in pre-9/11 Afghanistan, an abandoned Iraq could beget the likes of the Taliban and al Qaeda.

We can't afford ever again to cede terrorists a safe haven where they can gather, train, plan and operate. That is not what we want for the Iraqis, for ourselves or for the Free World.