It’s oft said Democrats have no plan for Iraq. There’s certainly some truth to that (the situation is, after all, seriously screwed-up and leaves us with no good option), but there actually is an official Democratic Iraq policy endorsed by the House and Senate leadership along with the ranking members (soon to be chairpersons) of the House and Senate defense, foreign affairs, and intelligence committee along with the House and Senate defense appropriations committees. Read their September letter here. Key excerpt:
We propose a new direction, which would include:
- transitioning the U.S. mission in Iraq to counter-terrorism, training, logistics and force protection;
- beginning the phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq before the end of this year;
- working with Iraqi leaders to disarm the militias and to develop a broad-based and sustainable political settlement, including amending the Constitution to achieve a fair sharing of power and resources;
- convening an international conference and contact group to support a political settlement in Iraq, to preserve Iraq’s sovereignty, and to revitalize the stalled economic reconstruction and rebuilding effort.
So there you have it in case you’re curious.
Advertisement