November 6, 2007 1:02PM 

# “The Goal Is Not Getting Out” 

By [Justin Logan](https://www.cato.org/people/justin-logan) 

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That was the comment of J.D. Crouch, former Deputy National Security Adviser to President Bush, at a recent forum on Iraq at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. [Click here](http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/video/video_popup.php?id=364&table=tblEvents&activeVid=609) for Crouch’s longer comment, describing why “I’m not sure that *leaving*, in fact, completely, is where we will ultimately want to be.” A refreshing moment of candor.

##### Related Tags 

[Defense and Foreign Policy](https://www.cato.org/defense-foreign-policy) 

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