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John McCain put it well last night when he said, "I believe those who are calling for withdrawal have the obligation to tell us what we do in the region when it descends into chaos..."

Dick Durbin, in the Democrats' formal response, did not answer McCain's call. Instead, Durbin said that it should be the Iraqis problem now and called on beginning withdrawal soon:

As Congress considers our future course in Iraq, we remain committed on a bipartisan basis to providing our soldiers every resource they need to fight effectively and come home safely.

But it's time to begin the orderly redeployment of our troops so that they can begin coming home soon.

When the Iraqis understand that America is not giving an open- ended commitment of support, when they understand that our troops, indeed, are coming home, then they will understand the day has come to face their own responsibility to protect and defend their nation.

But what if Iraqis don't take responsibility? What if Al Qaeda takes over Western Iraq? What if an all out Shiite-Sunni civil war ensues and becomes a proxy regional war involving Saudis, Egyptians, Iranians and Sryians?

Critics of the war may say, duh, that's what we warned about all along. But that doesn't change the fact that right now we are where we are in Iraq. Okay if Democrats think the surge will just be an escalation of a failed policy, but if they want to withdraw, they have to explain how they would respond if the worst case scenario occurs once we leave.

topics:
John McCain, Iraq, Iran