Ex - CIA director Michael Joseph Hayden : The sectarian strife in Iraq was predictable . He says the background of the president and prime minister set conditions for tension and violence . Stephen Biddle of the Council on Foreign Relations points to Kosovo ( itself a controversial intervention ) as a model where a continued U.S. presence helps deter old protagonists from resuming shooting at one another . Presence of U.S. troops has calmed conflict zones around the world , he says . Hayden : Withdrawing troops may have fulfilled campaign promise , but move was too risky .
Ex - CIA director Michael Joseph Hayden : The sectarian strife in Iraq was predictable . He says the background of the president and prime minister set conditions for tension and violence . Presence of U.S. troops has calmed conflict zones around the world , he says . Hayden : Withdrawing troops may have fulfilled campaign promise , but move was too risky .