It is time to get real. The Bush Doctrine has got to be the single worst military disaster in the history of the world. As the situation in Iraq continues to dissolve and democracy is clearly not sprouting across the globe like April flowers, Condoleeza Rice shifts gear once again to remind us of the “freedom deficit” in Iraq that apparently caused Saudi nationalists to travel to Afghanistan to plan an attack against buildings in the US. I guess we are back to connecting Iraq to 9/11, despite the Administration insisting they never made that claim.
Nearly 500 Iraqis have died in the last weeks. As we close bases in the US, we are opening them in the ‘Stans, crawling into bed with the exact same kind of dictatorial leaders as Saddam Hussein. While hundreds have died in Uzbekistan revolting against their Stalinist leader, it is important to remember that their goal is to implement an Islamic theocracy. None of the Middle Eastern states are any closer to democracy than they were 4 years ago and there is no indication that those in the greatest need of democracy, say Saudi Arabia, are taking any steps forward. The Arab-Latin Summit rejected US sanctions on Syria. Central & South America are simmering, Iran & N Korea move closer to nuclear armament.
Paul Krugman points out the obvious today, “America’s strategic position is steadily deteriorating…Why should Kim Jong Il fear us, when we can't even secure the road from Baghdad to the airport?... what threats, exactly, can we make against the North Koreans? That John Bolton will yell at them?”
It is time to demand that this Administration implement the Kerry Plan. Despite ridiculous assertions that it is a “stay the course” plan, the fact is that it is the EXACT SAME PLAN that Lynn Woolsey laid out in her withdrawal plan. EXACTLY THE SAME.
Don’t like the Kerry Plan? Don’t like the word Withdrawal? Names aren’t relevant, results are. How about Military Disengagement? Global Partnership?
Corralling the Bushwhacker?
First and foremost, John Bolton cannot be UN Secretary. We, as a country, must stop excusing bad behavior. We have excused more bad behavior in the last 2 years than in the 200 before, and that is a WHOLE LOT of bad behavior. As Paul Krugman also said, nobody wants to admit that those horrible scenes in Iraq or the deaths of our young troops were for nothing more than another US concocted domino intervention theory. Certainly nobody wants to suffer the wrath of this Administration’s anti-patriotic attacks. But the fact remains, as Paul says, we are hostages to the Iraq quagmire and our country is weaker for it.
We must demand a real Iraqi Action Plan, the Kerry Plan continues to be the only one that I have seen that will give Iraq sovereignty and security and end the American Occupation:
1. The President should convene a summit meeting of the world's major powers and of Iraq's neighbors and he should insist that they make good on U.N. resolution 1546. He should offer potential troop contributors specific but critical roles in training Iraqi security personnel and in securing Iraqi borders. He should give other countries a stake in Iraq's future by encouraging them to help develop Iraq's oil resources and by letting them bid on contracts instead of locking them out of the reconstruction process. Turn the Iraq Reconstruction over to the UN and Iraqi companies and get US corporations out of the process.
2. The president should urgently expand the security forces' training program inside and outside of Iraq. He should strengthen the vetting of recruits, double the classroom training time, require the follow-on field training. He should recruit thousands of qualified trainers from our allies, especially those who have no troops in Iraq. He should press our NATO allies to open training centers in their countries.
3. Third, the president must carry out a reconstruction plan that finally brings tangible benefits to the Iraqi people, all of which, may I say, should have been in the plan and immediately launched with such a ferocity that there was no doubt about America's commitment or capacity in the very first moments afterwards. He should use more Iraqi contractors and workers instead of big corporations like Halliburton. In fact, he should stop paying companies under fraud investigation or corruption investigation. And he should fire the civilians in the Pentagon who are responsible for mismanaging the reconstruction effort.
4. Credible elections are key to producing an Iraqi government that enjoys the support of the Iraqi people and an assembly that could write a constitution and yields a viable power-sharing agreement.
“If all of that happened, we could begin to withdraw U.S. forces starting next summer and realistically aim to bring our troops home within the next four years.”
Lynn Woolsey’s Plan?
1. develop and implement a plan for reconstructing Iraq 's civil and economic infrastructure;
2. convene an emergency meeting of Iraq's leadership, Iraq's neighbors, the United Nations, and the Arab League to create an international peacekeeping force in Iraq and to replace United States Armed Forces in Iraq with Iraqi police and Iraqi National Guard forces to ensure Iraq's security; and
3. take all steps necessary to provide the Iraqi people with the opportunity to completely control their internal affairs.
It is time for people who want an American Foreign Policy that reflects our values of respect, tolerance and partnership to quit quibbling about words and focus on action. The Bush Doctrine is not only against all American ethics and values, but it is making our country weak, economically and strategically. It is time for true patriots to stand up and demand that this foreign policy fiasco be consigned to the dustbins of history.
Links in piece, Krugman a must read:
http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=899
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