So I finally read the article.
At one point, the United States had blanketed the country with nearly a quarter-million-strong combat force; by the end of the month, Obama said, about 50,000 U.S. troops will remain in the country, in a non-combat role providing support and training for the Iraqi military.
I think that's the real key here. The entire thing rests on how well these 50,000 men and women do their jobs, and how hard the Iraqi Military want to work. If Iraq remains in its current state, we'll have left it with a countdown timer until we'll be forced to come back here to what may be an even worse Iraq.
Unfortunately, this isn't something that can be swept under the rug once we've left.
