Post #31

Why vote for Democrats? Security.

Perhaps Democrats can stop the policies of the George W. Bush administration which are making us less secure. There’s too much at stake.

Look, according to members of Bush’s own administration as shown by the National Intelligence Estimate, we are creating more jihadists in Iraq -- something that’s been said for years and years by Democrats and nutty bloggers.

But who are these jihadists? Well, they are NOT Iranian nuclear scientists or North Korean goose-steppers or British citizens – all of which require different approaches. These jihadists are the foot-soldiers for terrorism – these are the suicide bombers and suicide pilots.

We don’t have anything to worry about from these jihadists, the foot-soldiers. Oh, sure, the Saudis need to be worried, and the Israelis, as always, need to be worried, and our embassies in Africa and our warships in Middle Eastern ports. But our worry is the Osama Bin Ladens who are inspired by our presence in Iraq – nuts who are capable of organizing a terrorist networks capable of hitting us here in America.

Let’s say, as purely a guess, we are inspiring one additional Osama every year we are in Iraq. Doesn’t it make sense to withdraw now from Iraq after three years and the inspiration of three Osamas than to wait two more years and two more Osamas? For Gawd’s sake, let’s not wait 30 years as Condi wants or build permanent basis.

We are less secure under the leadership – or lack thereof – of Bush. Let’s hope the Democrats can make us more secure. Check http://planforiraq.com/ , the plan of * cough, Democrat, cough * Senator Joe Biden and Leslie Gelb, President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations:

“Sectarian violence among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds is now the major impediment to stability and progress in Iraq. No number of troops can solve that problem. The only way to hold Iraq together and create the conditions for our armed forces to responsibly withdraw is to give Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds incentives to pursue their interests peacefully. That requires a sustainable political settlement, which is the primary objective of our plan.

“The plan would maintain a unified Iraq by decentralizing it and giving Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis breathing room in their own regions - as provided for in the Iraqi constitution. The central government would be responsible for common interests, like border security and the distribution of oil revenues. We would secure support from the Sunnis - who have no oil -- by guaranteeing them a proportionate share (about 20 percent) of oil revenues. We would increase economic aid, ask the oil-rich Arab Gulf states to fund it and tie all assistance to the protection of minority rights and the creation of a jobs program. We would convene a regional conference to enlist the support of Iraq's neighbors and create a Contact Group of the major powers to enforce their commitments. And we would ask our military to draw up plans to responsibly withdraw most U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2007 - enough time for the political settlement to take hold.

“The course we're on has no end in sight. This plan can allow us to achieve the two objectives most American share: to leave Iraq without leaving chaos behind.”

I don’t know if it will work, but it’s better than the nonsense coming out of Bush. Maj. Gen. John Batiste told Mark Benjamin at Salon.com that he thinks the country might still be successfully carved up among the Shiites, the Sunnis and the Kurds. President Bush does not have a strategy for victory in Iraq. His strategy is to prevent defeat and to hand the problem off to his successor. As a result, more and more Americans want to bring our troops home immediately, even at the risk of trading a dictator for chaos and a civil war that could become a regional war. Both are bad alternatives. Batiste hopes that a Democratic-controlled Congress can push back more forcefully against President Bush, who continues to argue in favor of establishing democracy in Iraq, and against partitioning the country along sectarian lines.

Bush is making the mistake of defining “victory” as “a democracy that’s an ally in the War on Terror.” Unfortunately, Bush does not seem to realize that a democracy will not necessarily be an ally in the War on Terror – can ya say Lebanon? -- or that an ally in the War on Terror will not necessarily be a democracy – can ya say Saudi Arabia? The course we're on has no end in sight. Joe Biden’s plan can allow us to achieve the two objectives most American share: to leave Iraq without leaving chaos behind. And make us more secure.