The Kansas City Star this week is running a series of editorial suggesting an exit plan that will lead to peace and prosperity in Iraq and the region. For a look at the entire package, go to this link. Let us know if you think our exit plan is on the right track.

By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board

The United States’ exit from Iraq is under way. But not the debate on how to do it well, at least not in public.

Because of that, during the last week, and based on information and opinions gleaned from interviews with dozens of experts on three continents, this newspaper has offered six proposals that would go toward making a good exit more likely.

Give the Iraqi people reason to believe in their government by getting the water system up and running well. A stable Iraq will need popular support, and that popular support of U.S. efforts has suffered to date from poor oversight of the billions of dollars Americans have poured into the country. We urge stronger oversight, and a commitment to at least ensure that the capital’s water system is fixed in the manner the already-wasted $100 billion of taxpayer money should have provided for.

Consider expanding the U.S. military presence near Kirkuk, to continue for some years into the future. An expansion of the Kirkuk Air Base into a bigger base and training center would not only provide air cover for a nation without an air force, but would provide a home to train that fledgling Iraq air force. Beyond that, the base could serve as an international training base, allowing the U.S. and nations without the infrastructure but with the will, to help train Iraqi security forces.

The near-term, and long-term, success of Iraq is tied to relations with Turkey, and good relations with Turkey will mean disarming and disbanding the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or the PKK, a group the United States, the U.N. and European Union have long classified as a terrorist organization.

President Barack Obama must push European leaders to get involved in the business of rebuilding Iraq. In the end, even if the invasion remains politically unpopular, European nations have a great deal to gain and much to offer.

American foreign policy has to be willing to make a commitment to a democratic Iraq that goes beyond this administration.

Work to professionalize the Iraqi military, creating a noncommissioned officer class and a force loyal to Iraq, not a sect or imam.

We believe leaving quickly and without a well-thought-out plan would be a mistake that would haunt this country, and Iraq, for decades to come.