Post #81

Subject: Iraqis are in charge of our foreign policy! :p

… by George F. Will, Sunday, April 22, 2007. georgewill@washpost.com

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Republican Presidential candidate, Tommy Thompson, who served four terms as Wisconsin's Governor and four years (2001-05) as Secretary of Health and Human Services, says, regarding Iraq, he would challenge that country's government to relegitimize the U.S. presence by voting to ask U.S. forces to remain. If the government does not, the United States would leave. If it does, it should then encourage voluntary ethnic rearrangements by establishing federalism -- strong governments in all 18 provinces -- where Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds can cluster under governments of their kind. Then it should divide oil revenue, one-third to the national government, one-third to the provincial governments and one-third to Iraqi individuals, much as Alaska does with its oil trust fund.

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So, in other words, our presence in Iraq will be determined by the Iraqis – not us. We leave or impose the Biden plan. There’ll be no debate about our interests – the Iraqis will determine that.

Of course, that is better than letting Martians be in charge of our foreign policy – Post #74. Indeed, Charles Krauthammer’s main qualification in a “neutral observer” is a simple and unquestioning willingness to swallow “neo-con” garbage. At least, the Iraqis are not neutral.

America’s interests = ending the war and not leaving chaos behind. Stopping the bleeding so that we may respond with our military to other threats -- such as the on-going threat from Afghanistan.

We need to think ahead. We can not stay another 5 years or 10 years or 20 years – Bush wants 2. We need to lesson the chances of us having to return. That is why the second half of America’s interests as defined above – “not leaving chaos behind” – is so important. The next President will have to manage the aftermath of the greatest blunder in our history. If we do have to go back, let’s go back with a rested and resupplied military.