The ultimate disaster for Iraq would be a quick US withdrawal

BEHIND the tragedy of Monday’s suicide bombings on the headquarters of the Red Cross in Baghdad, which killed 35 people and wounded 230 others, there lurks the potential for another disaster: the United States might pull out of Iraq too soon.

This could happen in two ways. George W Bush could lose the presidency in November 2004 to a Democrat campaigning on an anti-war ticket.

Alternatively, to prevent such an outcome, Mr Bush might hasten the transfer of power to an Iraqi regime ill-fit to govern.