Dems' new direction would lead Iraq to ruin Reid's letter offers a retreat, not a strategy for stability Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid says the Democratic leadership "from Joe Biden to John Murtha" are united in calling for a new direction in the Iraq War. The Nevada senator is imploring Americans to sign an online letter to be sent to President George W. Bush urging him to follow that new direction. The problem is that the direction Reid and his Democratic posse would take America in is a full retreat. The letter Reid is touting calls on the United States to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq before the end of this year. That withdrawal would go forward without regard to conditions within Iraq, or how well prepared the Iraqis are to manage their own fate. Reid simply states that it's time for the Iraqis to take responsibility for their security. That's a fine goal, and one shared by Bush and the Republicans. But it's not likely to happen by the end of the year. The process of stabilizing Iraq must be further along before a U.S. pullout. Reaching that point will require a heavy and sustained presence of American troops -- unless other nations are willing to volunteer for the job. A premature withdrawal will lead to civil war in Iraq, with the strong possibility that the Islamist radicals will come out on top. That's not good for the region or the world. It may well be true that a new strategy is needed in Iraq, perhaps even the deployment of a much larger force for a short time to finally squash the insurgents. But just declaring that American troops will begin leaving by year's end without a plan for the aftermath, is not leadership and it's not a new direction. It's the same old election year political opportunism.