A DEMOCRAT’S PROPOSAL FOR AN EXIT STRATEGY FROM IRAQ

Requiring Vice President Cheney to testify before Congress may not get the truth about Iraq, but could result in a well deserved perjury conviction


ENOUGH already. I am sorely disappointed that the Democratic leaders in Congress have abdicated their responsibility to save this Republic and the soldiers who have volunteered to defend it from the worst foreign policy blunders in our nation’s history. As a parent of a young Marine on his second tour of duty in Iraq- a role I share with thousands of others- I want action and I want it now. Last year I wrote a check to my son for $6,000 to pay for top grade armored vests for him and members of his unit, and I know I’m not the only parent who has had to make such a sacrifice. Four years ago, parents and spouses of members of my son’s civil affairs reserve unit had to scramble to send them all kinds of routine items the Bush Administration and the Republican controlled Congress neglected to provide when President Bush gave the order to invade and occupy Iraq: desert proof goggles, sunglasses, baby wipes (to clean off the sand), and laptop computers among them.

It’s time to end this madness and support our troops- by bringing them out of harm’s way. If the top Democrats can’t figure a way out, then they need to get out and let those with the guts to end this open ended war take the reins from them. Forget about non-binding Senate resolutions-- here is what can be done and must be done:

* Pass legislation making the entire war pay as you go. No more off budget, “emergency” funding for a war now about to head into its fifth year, already longer than World War II. Tell the Bush Administration that not a single dollar will be allocated for any military action in Iraq- except for the removal of our troops- without additional taxes to pay for it, dollar for dollar. If President Bush can’t bring himself to ask for one extra dollar from his millionaire Texas oil cronies to help pay for body armor, communications equipment, and safe transport vehicles, then he has to stop playing the role of “War President” and the troops have to come home.

* Pass legislation prohibiting the introduction of any more American troops into Iraq unless they are fluent in Arabic and knowledgeable about Islamic customs and culture. Do this along with...

* Legislation requiring President Bush to ask Jordan and Egypt to send in peacekeeping troops to replace our troops as they leave, and take billions of dollars which would have been appropriated for the defense contractors who have profited from the war to pay the peacekeepers. Since they will be Arabic speaking Muslims, their insertion into Iraq to replace English speaking Christians will defuse the use of Iraq as an Al Qaida recruiting tool.

* Pass legislation prohibiting giving any military equipment to Iraqis. The weapons we are providing are fueling their civil war, and, even worse, are being used to take American lives.

* Pass legislation instituting a limited draft- limited to the children of the President, the Vice President, members of his cabinet, and children of the CEO’s and members of the boards of directors of the top ten defense contractors who have collected billions from this war. Every last one of those drafted will be required to serve in Iraq. That act alone will end this useless war faster than any bill of impeachment ever could.

* Pass legislation that requires a majority vote of the people of Iraq requesting that we stay. Absent that, we remove our troops from the country.

* Pass legislation requiring that before one more dollar is appropriated for military action in Iraq, the Bush Administration must bring before Congress public officials, including the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, and Karl Rove, who will be placed under oath, and required to truthfully answer the following questions:

What evidence existed in March of 2003 that Saddam Hussein had materially supported the 9-11 hijackers?

What evidence existed in March of 2003 that Saddam Hussein had both the intention and the military capability to use weapons of mass destruction against the United States?

What evidence exists that if we leave Iraq today, any organization or group in Iraq has both the intentions and the effective capacity to mount a military attack upon the United States?

What evidence exists that there are any insurgents in Iraq who are too timid to commit acts of violence unless a non-binding Senate resolution “emboldens” them?

And finally, what evidence exists that our continued military occupation of Iraq will result in a reduction of violence and an increase in political stability of that country?

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Asking those questions won’t get us out of Iraq, but at least it might lead to either a long awaited truthful public utterance from the Vice President, or, absent that, a perjury conviction and a well deserved prison sentence.