This month, Obama administration officials revealed plans to dramatically reduce embassy staff in Baghdad, the largest U.S. diplomatic mission abroad. Along with the announcement in December of the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq — the message President Barack Obama is sending is clear: The sooner we put Iraq in the rearview mirror, the better.

But this is a mistake. Far from distancing ourselves from Iraq, we should draw it, and its Shiite prime minister, closer still. Iraq could be the linchpin of a new U.S. strategy for the Middle East at a time when one is desperately needed.

A year ago, it appeared that the U.S. was committed to Iraq for the long term, with a small but necessary troop presence and an overwhelming diplomatic one. But American ambivalence and Iraqi politics got in the way of maintaining a U.S. military footprint. Not to worry, senior administration officials said; troops in camouflage would be replaced by "troops" in pinstripes. But the commitment was little more than rhetorical; after the military exited, U.S. officials quickly decided that Iraq was too unstable for a full, continuing engagement with its government.