In Iraq, have we worn out our welcome?

Of course we have (if we were ever welcome in the first place).

And the evidence couldn't be less ambiguous.

Last Thursday, April 9, was the sixth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad to U.S. forces. On that day in 2003, the world watched as the U.S. Army staged one of the most notable photo ops of the war and occupation: The topping of the statue of Saddam in Firdos Square.

And just as that celebration was coerced rather than spontaneous, so our presence there continues to be forced and unpopular.

On that April 9th anniversary this year, there were huge anti-American demonstrations in the streets of Baghdad to demand our immediate withdrawal from Iraq.

They don't want us there any more. And that's understandable.

Not only has our presence there destroyed the lives of so many Iraqi civilians, but Bush's unnecessary and unwinnable war on Iraq continues to squander billions of our taxpayer dollars.

Still, and quite sadly, President Obama plans to keep us there through the year 2011.

Why? So that we can stabilize the country and turn the Iraq's security responsibilities over to the Iraqis. You know, the same kind of thing we were supposed to be doing there for the past five or six years.

Meantime, how many more will have to die?