The Philippine option...

Exit strategies are being discussed inside the beltway, according to the New York Times (you'll need to register if you've never visited the site before, you Philistine.) And, as usual, this story was being covered here at MGIFOS before the major media picked it up (see post of Tue. Jan. 4).

From the Times:
One possibility quietly discussed inside the administration is whether the new Iraqi government might ask the United States forces to begin to leave - what one senior State Department official calls "the Philippine option," a reference to when the Philippines asked American forces to pull out a decade ago.

and

Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, who had just completed a tour as commander of all marines in Iraq, said, "I believe there will be elections in Iraq in January, and I suspect very shortly afterward you will start to see a reduction in U.S. forces - not because U.S. planners will seek it, rather because the Iraqis will demand it."

Sure, he said that on Oct. 8th, but at least I beat the Times.