The entirety of American policy in Iraq is stripped down to a single thought: Iran. After years of organizational chaos, the US has simplified its plan in Iraq to preventing Iran from becoming a regional hegemon. Once lofty thoughts of forging a democracy in the Middle East as a beacon of hope, thoughts of fighting militant Islam safely away from home shores, even stabilizing world oil production, have taken a back seat to limiting Iran's ambitions. An American withdrawal from Iraq would allow Iran to leverage its allies in Iraq's dominant Shiite south to eventually gain control of the country. This influence would extend to the significant Shiite communities on the oil-rich Persian Gulf's western shore. Without a US military presence, the military incompetence of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and