“Democrats don’t have a plan to win in Iraq.” How often have you heard that? It’s the rhetoric we hear on a constant basis from President Bush and the Republican Majority. We hear this claim so often that one could almost believe it to be true, if it weren’t coming from the mouth of our President. In actuality, it couldn’t be farther from the truth, or from the troops for that matter.
Like many Democrats and an increasing number of Republicans, I support Delaware Senator Joe Biden’s plan for Iraq. His five point proposal is the only reasonable strategy I’ve heard for how to get our troops home safely while giving Iraq a chance at stability.
First, the plan calls for creating three semi-autonomous regions, one for the Sunnis, one for the Shiites and another for Kurds. The country would maintain a strong central government that would be in charge of border security, foreign policy and oil. This is similar to the plan used in Bosnia a decade ago that successfully ended its sectarian violence. Now, 10 years later, Bosnia is a peaceful country that has disbanded its separate armies and is working toward national reconciliation.
Second, a plan must be reached to divide the oil revenues. Much of the current sectarian violence centers around oil revenues. Both sides, Shiites and Sunnis, are convinced they will receive the proverbial short end of the stick. Sunnis represent roughly 20 percent of Iraq’s population. Therefore, the Sunnis should get at least 20 percent of the oil revenues. If both sides can be convinced that they will get their fair share, national unity may be a real possibility.
Third, a massive employment program must begin immediately. This has the potential to both fix Iraq’s decrepit infrastructure while simultaneously providing much needed jobs. In the 48 hours immediately following the U.S. invasion of Iraq, $2 billion worth of economic damage was caused from looting. The Iraqi economy hasn’t recovered since. If Iraq is ever to become a safe, sustainable country, Iraqi civilians must be able to work and provide for their families.
Fourth, in conjunction with the UN and our neighboring allies, Iraq’s border must be secured. It’s no secret that since we invaded, terrorists from Iran, Syrian and Afghanistan (to name a few) have flooded into Iraq. For Iraq to stand on its own, it must be capable of keeping its borders safe from those who wish to influence it negatively.
Fifth, and lastly, plans must be drawn up for troop redeployment. While most troops should be withdrawn by the end of 2007, it will likely be necessary to keep a small force of roughly 20,000 troops in Iraq to continue in training Iraq soldiers and to squelch any terrorist uprisings. The remaining troops would be kept along the border and in neighboring allied countries at “stage 2 readiness” in case they are needed on short notice.
I will refrain from rattling off the laundry list of reasons why this war was doomed from the start, but it is worthwhile to recap the various threats our soldiers have encountered since this operation began in 2002. America invaded Iraq because we were told that Saddam Hussein and his regime were a threat. Regardless of the validity (or lack thereof) to those claims, toppling Saddam was accomplished expediently. This prompted the president to land on an air craft carrier to proclaim, “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.” That was more than three and a half years ago, but no troops were brought home, and we did not see any decrease in casualties. In actuality we’ve seen increases in both troop presence and soldier fatalities since that declaration. Then we began to battle the insurgency. Recently, this too has subsided. But alas, no downscale in troop presence. Today, our soldiers are in the midst of what can only be described as civil war. Now is the time to adopt a plan to change our course and get our troops out of Iraq. It’s not just Democrats who’ve realized this. Republicans John Warner, Chuck Hagel and Olympia Snowe all have realized that “Staying the Course” is not a viable plan.
Unfortunately, staying the course is exactly what the Republicans plan to do. Just this week, plans were drawn up that would maintain troop level at or above the current 140,000 until 2010. This is unacceptable.
We are 19 days away from Election Day. For the sake of Iraq, our standing in the international committee, and certainly our troops, we must elect officials who will end this travesty as soon as possible.
This plan is the best proposal for bringing home our troops while preserving Iraq. As Senator Biden says, “The question I have for those who reject this plan is simple: What is your alternative?”
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