- Mitt Romney**: Well, you know, I think it's hard to predict whether this troop surge will work, but I'm absolutely confident it's the right thing to do.
The idea of pulling out would leave the potential of the country or the alternative that Senator Biden and others talk about, dividing the country into multiple parts, they have new risks.
The risks are, of course, that Iran grabs the Shia south, that the Sunni portion of the country becomes dominated by Al Qaeda, that perhaps Kurdish instability destabilizes the border with Turkey.
You might have a regional conflict where we have to go back again with more troops.
Anyone looking at a decision like this has to say, "How do you minimize the casualties to Americans throughout the world, our military and other casualties?" And in my view, to minimize those casualties, to reduce the risks, it's better now to put in an additional five brigades than it is to say, "Hey, let's pull out or let's divide into multiple parts."
That's an option that's always available down the road, but right now, the only option we have that really has prospects for securing the country and maintaining a central government with power over these sub-states is by supporting it with a troop surge that can bring stability, hopefully, to the people of Baghdad.
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