Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR-3) was a guest this morning on our local AAR (620 KPOJ) with Thom Hartmann, and has what I think is a great plan for troop withdrawal from Iraq.
As he stated:
Until now, I have resisted advocating for an accelerated pullout because of my fear of the downward spiral that could occur in the aftermath. Yet this is a question that must be faced sooner rather than later. There is no longer any basis for the hope that a sustained American military occupation will stabilize Iraq.
Now he is finally advocating his own plan for withdrawal, and it sounds to me like a great starting point.
I've summarized his 4 steps below:
Summarization in blockquote to make it easier to read:
1. After the December Iraqi Elections, redeploy troops in two phases:
Bring home the 46,000 National Guard and Reserve Forces immediately, then
The majority of these troops brought home over the next one to two years, based on a detailed plan. The rest redeployed to Afhanistan for security to prevent re-emergence of the Taliban, and others for a rapid reaction force in Kuwait, to protect against destabilizing coups.
2. Seek a new UN resolution that supports international efforts to stabilize Iraq and that seeks security dialog with Iraq's neighbors.
3. "....[W]ork with the Arab League to facilitate a renewed effort toward a political solution within Iraq by engaging with nationalist faction leaders who might be a force for stability when U.S. troops are withdrawn."
4. Shift reconstruction aid from from foreign contractors toward small, locally oriented projects run by Iraqis.
His statement also appears in todays
Oregonian and while he did not say that his plan would be introduced in the House, he did say that over the next few weeks the Dems would be working to provide a plan for troop withdrawal. How that pans out remains to be seen.
I'll give him the final word:
President Bush's model of "go it alone, do it cheap, and put it on a credit card" has not only led to grave instability in Iraq, it is crippling our ability to deal with the more serious strategic threats, from Iran and North Korea to a terrorist movement that we have inadvertently strengthened. We must now do our best to salvage what we still can of American credibility, military readiness, democratic ideals, and Iraqi stability through a change in strategy and the beginning of a responsible phase-down of American troops and the orderly transfer of authority to Iraqis.
So, whaddaya think - a good plan? I think so. If you have any other ideas, or thinks he missed an important step, I'd be more than happy to share your suggestions with him.