Mr. Obama would do well to ponder the words of David Hilbert (1868-1943)

David Hilbert (1868-1943) ... arguably, the Greatest Mathematician of the Twentieth Century

"Before beginning I should put in three years of intensive study, and I haven't that much time to squander on a probable failure." ... D. Hilbert

Please, Mr. Obama--stay firm on pulling our boys and girls out of Iraq and homeward bound within sixteen months! You may have time to squander, but they don't.