Plus, it seems to me, we are controlling the battlefield for the larger war by staying there.
Amazing, after all these years, accomplishing the 7 of 8 points you mentioned, there is still a battlefield.
So after years of our assistance, the Iraqis are still not capable of doing this? And who is it that's going to invade Iraq now? Iran? Seems to me, Iran is not even this stupid. And why would the Iraqi's not protect their own borders, after we did all the heavy work?
Yea, duh... There was the war in Iraq, and there is the larger war against Islamic Jihadists. The two are tied because 1, Iraq supported the Jihadists, and 2, the Jihadists have followed us into that battlefield. The Iraqis may be capable of keeping out the Jihadists if they were forced to, but is that in our interest? Do you think the Jihadists will just go back home and play their Playstation because we leave? Osama said himself he was emboldened to attack mainland US because we left Mogadishu when things 'got tough'.. if that emboldened him, imagine what our leaving Iraq now would do?