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August 26, 2005

Why don't the Democrats have a plan for Iraq?

Democrats aren't a group that tends to stick to a message. As with most things, they're divided as a group on what to do about Iraq.

The Republicans use this lack of Democratic sheepleness as a tool to say that the Democrats don't have a plan to deal with Iraq.

Wesley Clark proves the naysers wrong:

From the outset of the U.S. post-invasion efforts, we needed a three-pronged strategy: diplomatic, political and military. Iraq sits geographically on the fault line between Shiite and Sunni Islam; for the mission to succeed we will have to be the catalyst for regional cooperation, not regional conflict.

Clark doesn't just point fingers and say "they're doing it wrong!" either. He lays out a fix:

Adding a diplomatic track to the strategy is a must. The United States should form a standing conference of Iraq's neighbors, complete with committees dealing with all the regional economic and political issues, including trade, travel, cross-border infrastructure projects and, of course, cutting off the infiltration of jihadists. The United States should tone down its raw rhetoric and instead listen more carefully to the many voices within the region. In addition, a public U.S. declaration forswearing permanent bases in Iraq would be a helpful step in engaging both regional and Iraqi support as we implement our plans.

On the political side, the timeline for the agreements on the Constitution is less important than the substance of the document. It is up to American leadership to help engineer, implement and sustain a compromise that will avoid the "red lines" of the respective factions and leave in place a state that both we and Iraq's neighbors can support. So no Kurdish vote on independence, a restricted role for Islam and limited autonomy in the south. And no private militias.

In addition, the United States needs a legal mandate from the government to provide additional civil assistance and advice, along with additional U.S. civilian personnel, to help strengthen the institutions of government. Key ministries must be reinforced, provincial governments made functional, a system of justice established (and its personnel trained) and the rule of law promoted at the local level. There will be a continuing need for assistance in institutional development, leadership training and international monitoring for years to come, and all of this must be made palatable to Iraqis concerned with their nation's sovereignty. Monies promised for reconstruction simply must be committed and projects moved forward, especially in those areas along the border and where the insurgency has the greatest potential.

On the military side, the vast effort underway to train an army must be matched by efforts to train police and local justices. Canada, France and Germany should be engaged to assist. Neighboring states should also provide observers and technical assistance. In military terms, striking at insurgents and terrorists is necessary but insufficient. Ten thousand Arab Americans with full language proficiency should be recruited to assist as interpreters. A better effort must be made to control jihadist infiltration into the country by a combination of outposts, patrols and reaction forces reinforced by high technology. Over time U.S. forces should be pulled back into reserve roles and phased out.

Not only is this a comprehensive plan, it can be orchestrated. Clark believes it isn't too late to implement these ideas and repair the situation. I'm not so sure he's right. But it's evident that the former General believes that salvaging Iraq means a complete change of attitude on the part of the Administration.

Bush likes to remind us that we need to "stay the course". Since there was no course laid out to begin with (except to invade), these guys are just flying by the seat of their pants hoping something salvagable eventually shakes out.

Flying by the seat of your pants is cool when you're..say..trying to find a good place to chow down an elitist liberal meal. But for war? Not so much.

So where is the Republican plan for Iraq? I've looked all over the place today and I just can't find it anywhere.

I looked here. Nope, no plan for Iraq. Here? No dice.
I even checked to see if these guys had something.

Nada.

Lord knows it's not anywhere over here.

Kinda like the WMD.

Posted by Carla at August 26, 2005 02:41 PM