If the U.S. "had the conflict won" after the 2007 troop surge, then why shouldn't American troops have left? If you really think that the current collapse of the Iraqi army is due to the American withdrawal, doesn't that mean that the surge didn't actually win the war?
Having your military pinned down in a distant foreign land for fear that if you ever leave the whole country will fall apart is not "winning." That's called failure. At least if your original goal was to establish a new government in that country and you had already been there for eight years working on it.
Having your military pinned down in a distant foreign land for fear that if you ever leave the whole country will fall apart is not "winning." That's called failure. At least if your original goal was to establish a new government in that country and you had already been there for eight years working on it.
