Two Deadlines and an Exit

"We are asking Americans to think about that because how do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"
-John Kerry (April 23, 1971)

The guy who should've been President has written a great NY Times op-ed piece today proposing a strategy for Iraq. While Condi and Jack Straw pussyfooted around the issue in their 'surprise' visit (surprise! the country's so unstable you can't announce visits in advance!), Sen. Kerry insists we get tough with Iraq... and then get out. It's a very detailed plan and a workable one. But most importantly, it's bold, it's different, it's everything the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld 'cross your fingers and hope for the best' plan is not. Let's let the Senator explain...

He starts out-

WE are now in the third war in Iraq in as many years. The first was against Saddam Hussein and his supposed weapons of mass destruction. The second was against terrorists whom, the administration said, it was better to fight over there than here. Now we find our troops in the middle of an escalating civil war.

Half of the service members listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall died after America's leaders knew our strategy would not work. It was immoral then and it would be immoral now to engage in the same delusion. We want democracy in Iraq, but Iraqis must want it as much as we do. Our valiant soldiers can't bring democracy to Iraq if Iraq's leaders are unwilling themselves to make the compromises that democracy requires...

And his plan-

Iraqi politicians should be told that they have until May 15 to put together an effective unity government or we will immediately withdraw our military. If Iraqis aren't willing to build a unity government in the five months since the election, they're probably not willing to build one at all. The civil war will only get worse, and we will have no choice anyway but to leave.

If Iraq's leaders succeed in putting together a government, then we must agree on another deadline: a schedule for withdrawing American combat forces by year's end. Doing so will empower the new Iraqi leadership, put Iraqis in the position of running their own country and undermine support for the insurgency, which is fueled in large measure by the majority of Iraqis who want us to leave their country. Only troops essential to finishing the job of training Iraqi forces should remain.

He also calls for a massive summit meeting.

Best line-

We will defeat Al Qaeda faster when we stop serving as its best recruitment tool.

Indeed.

He concludes-

For three years now, the administration has told us that terrible things will happen if we get tough with the Iraqis. In fact, terrible things are happening now because we haven't gotten tough enough. With two deadlines, we can change all that. We can put the American leadership on the side of our soldiers and push the Iraqi leadership to do what only it can do: build a democracy.

Read the full column for all the details. It's worth reading, I promise you.

Meanwhile, the real President is staying the course. The losing course.

George, suck it up... and listen to John. It's time to end this.

[PS- Isn't it kind of BS that everyone always decries how the Democrats don't have plans for Iraq or national security or whatnot, and then when they do make public very detailed and workable strategies... everyone ignores it? I give them their fair share of crap, but the Democrats do have ideas. Good ideas. Nobody just ever talks about them, because it doesn't fit the storyline we've all accepted of the party.]