The US soldier death toll has reached 3000 according to “LA Times” 1/1/2007.
It may have been time for our president to have withdrawn troops, not this December, but last. 
Critics and proponents alike have reasons to want our forces there or not, but a most compelling reason to have withdrawn, is that the ones already there, are killing far more than are being killed… do we really need to add more US troops, as he’s now considering?