Gen. Matthew Ridgway, who briefly led the Allied occupation of Japan after World War II (and lived out his retirement in Fox Chapel), famously said, "No ground gained was ever relinquished."

When most U.S. troops finally left Japan in 1953, Ridgway probably didn't see it as relinquishing ground. The Japan that Ridgway helped launch toward independence remained a strategic ally and an economic partner for the United States throughout the Cold War and to this day.

Now we face a similar scenario with the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq and, next year, from Afghanistan. If the Obama administration meets its own deadlines, virtually all American soldiers will have departed both countries by the end of 2011. Inevitably, though, the U.S. presence will remain robust -- in the form of military advisers, contractors, investors, oil companies, aid workers, special envoys and diplomats.

How does the United States leverage these connections into the kind of fruitful partnership that developed with Japan and West Germany after World War II?

To begin, the United States must acknowledge that the occupations of Japan and Germany in 1945 were very different from what's going on today in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In Japan and Germany, American troops never faced a sustained insurgency by well-armed guerilla fighters supported by a worldwide network of radicals. Moreover, both countries in the 1940s felt pressure to align with the United States or risk falling under Soviet influence. The Japanese and Germans could view American occupation as the lesser of two possible evils; modern Iraq and Afghanistan face more varied outside pressures and more difficult choices.

Although it may contradict how most Americans view our role in foreign affairs, we ought to admit that Iraq and Afghanistan are, in effect, American colonies. We should nurture both countries to stand on their own and build an independent relationship with the United States by modeling our behavior on that of successful colonizers, not military occupiers.

Modern Afghanistan is less like the Japan of 1945 than the India of 1885 -- an amalgam of nationalities, ethnic groups and warring factions barely held together by a foreign superpower. Iraq's struggle to carry out basic functions of democracy, like forming a coalition government after its last election, resembles the experiences of many African colonies after they won independence. In places such as Nigeria and Sierra Leone, dreams of establishing British-style parliamentary government often collapsed as political systems became riven by long-standing indigenous rivalries, which seems to be the case in Baghdad today.

If we learned anything from European countries like Britain and France as they pulled out of their colonial empires, it is that withdrawing too rapidly can have grave consequences.

After World War II, most European countries were so mired in debt that the cost of maintaining their overseas colonies was unthinkable. Dozens of African and Asian colonies were given independence whether they were ready or not.

Borders drawn hastily during this period -- like those in Kashmir, Israel/Palestine, and even Iraq -- sparked conflicts that have lasted for decades. Many newly independent countries cut ties to their former colonial powers. Some, like India, joined the non-aligned movement during the Cold War rather than support Britain; others, like Vietnam, fell under communist control.

Niall Ferguson of Harvard University has long argued that the United States is an empire -- and should act like one. Americans have a hard time accepting this notion but our leadership role in the world sometimes demands it. And to execute this role effectively, we need to look long term and exercise patience.

A colonial relationship can be positive as well as negative -- and often both -- for both parties.

Britain and France mistreated millions of indigenous people around the globe, but they also built hospitals, universities, railroads and airports that serve those people today. Many of Britain's former colonies, including Australia, Canada and the United States, are today some of its closest allies. In those cases, though, the colonial relationship lasted for more than a century -- far longer than most Americans could tolerate staying in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Still, letting our two "colonies" incubate for some years under American guidance makes sense, and Gen. David Petraeus recently said as much when he recommended against adhering to President Barack Obama's July 2011 withdrawal deadline in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the cost of long-term occupation -- in tax dollars and American lives -- may be unpalatable to most Americans.

Even if public opinion demands that we hold to Mr. Obama's deadlines and withdraw all troops from Iraq and Afghanistan next year, we can, as Ridgway said, hold our ground by other means.

We must continue to invest in both countries with the best of what the United States has to offer. Funding for schools, hospitals, and infrastructure is just the beginning. Public diplomacy, cultural exchanges and Peace Corps programs -- as safety allows -- should work to improve America's image in both countries. U.S. universities should work with the State Department to educate Iraqis and Afghans in the United States.

The private sector has a critical role to play. American businesses -- beyond defense contractors and oil companies ---- must invest responsibly, linking the economies of Iraq and Afghanistan to our own. We sometimes forget that our country was settled first not by huddled masses yearning to breathe free but by businessmen looking to make a profit. The first English settlement at Jamestown was bankrolled by private investors. Those early settlers were not pilgrims escaping the tyranny of the old world but employees of the Virginia Co. who simply sought to sell what they could grow, mine or trap in the New World.

Finally, the United States should formalize its relationships with Iraq and Afghanistan in the form of international organizations. When their empires collapsed, Britain established the Commonwealth and France the Francophonie, giving them auspices under which to meet regularly with their former colonies. The colonial relationship developed into a diplomatic one between equals, who used their shared history as a forum for regular cooperation.

Iraq and Afghanistan could be the founding members of a regional council that includes the United States and, eventually, other moderate countries in the Near East. Formal, regular dialogue and cooperation would help keep the United States relevant in the region, much as NATO has helped keep the United States tied to Europe.

Striking this balance will not be easy. But the first step is to admit our role as a global power on par with Britain or France in the last century -- and learn from their experiences, rather than from our own.

Cartoonist Rob Rogers does "Rob's Rough," an early look at his work and his creative process, exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.