The Moderate Solution To Iraq

This blog would like to publicly stand behind President George W. Bush’s expected veto of the Iraq supplemental bill. Please read below to understand. Without further ado, here is how Iraq should be dealt with *drum roll*.

Diplomacy

Unless more effort is put forth by the Bush Administration in the realm of diplomacy, a peaceful Iraq is doubtful. The Iraq Study Group really brought it front and center, but in reality the idea was passed over by the “decider” before the report was published. Bush needed to show that he was in control, and refuses to listen. He has to learn he can't have everything he wants, especially now that Democrats are in control of Congress. Serious negotiations with Iran and Syria must be immediate and unconditional. Iran announced it will attend a conference with the U.S. this week. Progress is being made, but the President still needs to commit himself to direct talks.

Militarily

According to military commanders, the surge appears to be working. There may be more American soldiers dying, but that statistic is not necessarily a sign of failure. Other statistics show declining sectarian violence, and a story in today’s New York Times reports increased cooperation between Americans and Sunnis.

The U.S. isn’t going to be, and shouldn’t be in Iraq forever. But we cannot leave until there is a relatively stabile climate in Iraq. The bill in Congress will have troop leave early next year. That is too early. For the U.S. to be successful in Iraq and the Middle East as a whole, we are going to need to be there longer. Here is how the plan should work:

• The earliest the troop pullout could begin would be mid to late 2008.
• Unless very specific conditions arise, the majority of American troops would be out of Iraq by the early 2010.
• Goals would be set my military officials and congressmen and women that, if met, would mean troops are brought home earlier. If the goals are not met, troops would stay later (but no later than 2010).

The above plan is the meat of how the Iraq situation would be handled. As can easily be seen, this plan contrasts with bill passed by Congress. The bill passed by Congress orders the troops home too soon, and therefore Thoughts on the World expresses its support for the expected presidential veto.

Iraq The Model

The single greatest influence of this plan was the blog Iraq the Model and especially this post written by Omar. A blog written by two Iraqis living through the reality of the war, they give their view on what should be happening. As Iraqis, they should be the ones really in control of what’s going on. Their opinion greatly influenced this plan.

The moderate plan

Because this plan pleases everybody, it also pleases nobody. Some will be disappointed that this post calls for a timetable, while other will complain that it doesn’t get troops out fast enough.