The Iraqi government seems as though it may be about to trump both Republicans and many Democrats when it comes to withdrawing troops from Iraq.
From the Times Online:
THE Iraqi Government will announce a sweeping peace plan as early as Sunday in a last-ditch effort to end the Sunni insurgency that has taken the country to the brink of civil war.
The 28-point package for national reconciliation will offer Iraqi resistance groups inclusion in the political process and an amnesty for their prisoners if they renounce violence and lay down their arms, The Times can reveal.
The Government will promise a finite, UN-approved timeline for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq; a halt to US operations against insurgent strongholds; an end to human rights violations, including those by coalition troops; and compensation for victims of attacks by terrorists or Iraqi and coalition forces.
It will pledge to take action against Shia militias and death squads. It will also offer to review the process of "de-Baathification" and financial compensation for the thousands of Sunnis who were purged from senior jobs in the Armed Forces and Civil Service after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
The deal, which has been seen by The Times, aims to divide Iraqi insurgents from foreign fighters linked to al-Qaeda. It builds on months of secret talks involving Jalal al-Talabani, the Iraqi President, Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Ambassador, and seven Sunni insurgent groups.
Now, correct me if I am wrong, but it appears the Bush administration, which has been blasting the idea of a timeline for withdrawal, has actually been involved in negotiations that will propose a timeline after all (notice the US Ambassador was involved in the talks leading to this plan). Now, when the country welcomes this policy, even though it was first popularized in the United States by Democrats such as Senator Feingold and Senator Kerry, and even though it was supported by more than 80% of rank-and-file democrats, there will be very little means for Democrats as a whole to claim victory for our policy because our congressional leadership as a whole did not embrace it. And so our cautiousness leads to our defeat.
There is certainly no telling whether this deal will actually be accepted by all parties involved or not. In fact, many conservatives in America might feel betrayed by this policy. However, I imagine that any policy that leads to a quick end to the war, no matter what flip-flopping is involved, will be quite popular nationwide. As long as the timeline is sooner rather than later, I hope the Bush administration accepts this plan, and we can all look forward to the end of the war. Kerry, Feingold, Murtha and the Democratic rank and file were right. In short, progressive ideas were right on this one. Too bad more of the Democratic leadership did not listen.
