As the body count in Iraq of both U.S. military servants and Iraqi civilians rises, the cries for withdrawal grow louder. For a war that began under false presumptions, staying the course seems arrogant, if not pointless.

The American military cannot restore order to or build a democracy in a country that rejects the very presence of the American military. How can American troops win the hearts and minds of Iraqis when pictures of Abu Ghraib and civilian deaths haunt the conscience of Iraqi citizens? Nearly three quarters of Baghdad residents would feel safer if U.S. and coalition forces left Iraq, according to a State Department poll cited in a Sept. 27, 2006 Washington Post article “Most Iraqis Favor Immediate US Pullout.”

Moreover, Iraqis, enduring years of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship while the U.S. supported Iraq, suffered U.N. sanctions that resulted in the death of half a million children and were indiscriminately carpet-bombed by the U.S. military, according to a Nov. 14 Seattle Post-Intelligencer article “U.S. Tanks Will Roll Out of Iraq on a Road Paved with Excuses.” It isn’t hard to see why Iraqis must have a hard time believing the sincerity of the U.S.

Of course, the risk of withdrawing from Iraq is the surge of violence that could soon follow, and/or an acceleration of terrorist recruitment. However, the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq has already done both. And although the idea that withdrawal would exacerbate such negative effects is plausible, the reality is that American troops are dying in a mess that is irreparable, in a war that is not winnable. Seventy-two percent of American troops serving in Iraq think the U.S. should pull out, according to a Feb. 28 Zogby Poll. Despite American troops’ obvious personal interest in withdrawing from Iraq — that being preserving their own lives — their sentiment should be heeded.

Certainly, the U.S. cannot withdraw from Iraq immediately. But a strategy must be developed in order to minimize losses and costs in an effort to pull out soon. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent every day the Iraq war continues. Eventually, the amount could total $1 trillion, according to the March 17, 2006 MSNBC article, “Cost of Iraq War Could Surpass $1 Trillion.” Meanwhile, many domestic programs suffer and the federal budget deficit expands to 49.3 billion dollars, according to marketwatch.com. America is fighting a war it cannot afford to continue.

As it appears, Iraqi self-determination never was the goal. In a cloud of lies and half-truths, neither the American public nor the U.S. government seem to know what the real goal in Iraq was. For whatever reason, the Bush administration wanted to go to war with Iraq. Withdrawing from Iraq is not a final solution, but it is part of the solution. The problems America faces in the war on terror are complex and require a comprehensive diplomatic strategy. Violence will only cause more violence.