The purpose of protest?

With the Iraq war quickly losing public support and with the anti-war movement gaining new supporters, I have been thinking more about what is the best way to go. There is little doubt that much of the Iraq war was a mistake, WMDs, Abu Graib, unexpected insurgency, etc... And while we as a nation need to own up to these mistakes, I don't think pulling out immediately is the best way. Pulling out now would leave an Iraq in the hands of extremists. The comparitively few Americans that will die helping Iraq move towards self-rule will save many more lives. We did make a mistake in Iraq and that mistake is going to cost hundreds of American lives. But to pull out now would be yet another mistake that could costs thousands more. The only reason toi pull out is greed, feeling that American lives are worth more than Iraqi lives.