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Thursday, 26 October 2006 |
I favor announcing an immediate
withdrawal of the U.S. military and corporate interests from Iraq.
This should be completed rapidly and responsibly in no more than four
months. This is the only way we can bring stability to Iraq and
undermine the insurgency.
Everything we fear in Iraq is made
more likely every day the U.S. military stays in Iraq. This includes
terrorism, civil war, theocracy, and isolation of the United States.
The U.S. cannot bring stability to Iraq because we have made too many
mistakes – attacking on false information, getting caught in prison
scandals, bombing cities the size of Baltimore (e.g. Fallujah),
house-to-house searches and checkpoints on the roads. We have lost
the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. A majority says it is
acceptable to kill Americans, and the vast majority (one poll said
91%) wants the U.S. to leave.
The war in Iraq is costing $6.8
billion dollars per week. It has killed thousands of U.S. soldiers
and civilians and left tens of thousands of Americans seriously
wounded. The most recent report indicates that more 650,000 Iraqis
have died since the United States invaded the country. I recommend
the following steps:
-
Initiate a rapid, responsible withdrawal from Iraq. This
withdrawal of troops and corporate interests should be completed within
four months so Iraqis know they will be getting their country back.
This will weaken the resistance to U.S. occupation, as Main Street
Iraqis will no longer support violence against Americans.
-
The U.S. should acknowledge the mistakes it made and agree to
fund the rebuilding of Iraq by Iraqis. The people of Iraq were able to
rebuild their country after the first Gulf War; they can do so again.
-
If the Iraq government wants an international peace keeping
force, the United States should provide some of the funding for this,
but U.S. troops should not be included in such a force.
I currently serve as the Executive Director of Democracy
Rising, a national organization seeking to end the war in Iraq and
prevent an attack on Iran. You can see more of my views at Democracy
Rising.
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