That’s the only way he can explain this bit of stupidity:

Richardson, trying hard to join the front-runners in the polls, chastised the field for not talking more about jobs and voiced implicit criticism of Obama, Edwards and Clinton for suggesting that some troops may have to stay in Iraq for some time.

“This is the hard reality — you can’t say you’ll end the war in Iraq if you’re leaving thousands of troops behind, or if you won’t even commit to removing them by 2013,” he said.

So you can’t say a war is over if there are troops left behind? As Purple Avenger points out, U.S. troops have been in Germany, Japan and Korea for over 50 years. I guess WWII and Korean wars never ended. Even if you want to make the case that Korea ended in an armistice, we’re not fighting anymore. And then explain WWII.