Ending the Iraq Occupation
So, now many conservatives had come to see that Bush was "mistaken" in invading Iraq and that Bush should had handle Iraq much better in order to win. Some conservatives had even come to agree with some Liberals in their argument against the continue occupation of Iraq but now, they had a new reason and framing in staying in Iraq.
This is their new framing:
We're staying in Iraq because it's now the responsible thing to do. We're there to try to keep the peace amongst belligerent religious and ethnic factions, from Iraq and the region, long enough to allow a new republic to incubate.
It is call personal responsibility, just like if you broke a vase it is your job to personally fix it back together.
Iraq is broken now by all the al Qaeda (not the USA military) moving into the country to destroy this young democracy and it is our jobs to see that none of these al Qaeda terrorist become leaders or in control of the state.
Iraq must be protected from outside force of terrorism and to prevent future al Qaeda leaders from gaining powers in the country or violating human rights of the Iraqis.
If we leave now, al Qaeda will become instance leaders in the country, denying basic democracy to the Iraqis, and Iraq will erupt into chaos worse than before thus making USA to liberate the Iraqis once again from the brutal, evil, dictators, al Qaeda leaders, just like they liberated Iraqis from the Al Qaeda hero Saddam Hussein.
How to I reframe the debate when it comes to ending the occupation of Iraq, when some of the conservatives (who now "agree" with me on some point in Iraq) justify leaving Iraq will result into chaos where al Qaeda leaders will rule thus forcing another intervention into Iraq.
Cost analysis
Yes, break down the costs of STAYING in Iraq. At least those are somewhat calculable. Break it down financially, in deaths (including between 100,000 and a million Iraqi deaths), in pissed off generations (seeds of future problems sown), in physically wounded, in mentally wounded (on all sides now), in breaking our DEFENSE system, in splitting our country, in terrorizing people and ceding our moral authority as a country of good will.
It can be argued that our pulling out will solve 2 out of 6 of the conflicts happening in Iraq (US v. Al Qaeda and US v. anti-occupying forces). The sects that live there were only on pause from their fighting because of Sadaam's oppressive regime. Perhaps if we left, the world would actually step in and help the new oppressed classes if they saw mass killings. Perhaps not. Right now though, I am ashamed that only my country can claim mass killings of Iraqis. When we pull out, at least that will stop and my taxes will not be supplying the bullets.
New! Acknowledge the chaos
and then remind them of Vietnam. We left, and Vietnam actually prospered. I would remind them that we are breaking our Army, and that by continuing to occupy a country whose citizens by and large want us to leave, we make ourselves less secure. I would frame it such a way as to highlight "our security" and "hurting our military preparedness". One thing we know about Right Wing Authoritarians is that they are fearful of the world, and I think appealing to that fear might tip the scales in favor of withdrawal. You might say that is cynical, but we are not trying to change their personality, we are trying to change their opinion.