I've had it with Bush. Well, I actually had it with him a long time ago. He is the reason you don't elect C students. You get C presidents. And with the world in it's current state, C isn't nearly good enough.
With his new "plan" to toss a bunch more troops into Iraq, with no clear message on what they are to do differently, I figured it was time someone thought up an actual plan. It may not be a great plan, but it's something, and that's a start. Please feel free to add, tweak or discard any portions that are not feasible. Maybe we can all come up with something to end this nightmare.
Follow me after the fold, please...
There are a lot of problems in Iraq, so I will start with one of the big ones. Sectarian violence fueled by money and weapons from Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia.
Bush talks about disrupting the Iranian and Syrian supply chains (he doesn't mention the just as rumored Saudi supplies chains though) Fine. I agree that Iran and Syria could be problems in the rebuilding of Iraq. It benefits them more to let Iraq dissolve into it's religious factions and absorb the new land, oil and people into their newly expanded countries. So, how to battle this.
Build a fence. There has been a lot of talk of a Mexico fence (and even some of a Canadian one, lol) and according to this article, the Mexico fence would be estimated at between 4-8 billion for a 2,000 mile fence (aprrox 3,218km). According to this site, Iraq's total border adds up to be 3650km (2,212 miles). A difference of a couple of hundred miles.
Even doubling the 2,000 mile estimate (due to building the wall in another country), it should be well under 20 billion dollars for the project. Given that Bush is asking for another $100 billion, I think the Dems should put on a rider that some of that money has to go to building a fence around Iraq.
That will effectively interrupt supply chains WITHOUT GOING INTO IRAN. Iran, unlike Iraq, has some very, very powerful friends in Russia and China. If Bush goes into Iran, this war could get really bad, really fast. Because Iraq is a nothing compared to what could happen if China and Russia side with Iran after a US air strike.
So, order some of the 20,000 new troops to start building the wall, and hire Iraqis to help as well. Hire Iraqis for good wages in all areas so we can start to build some trust again. With all religious factions and Americans all working together on a large scale project like this, for the future good of Iraq, and for the sovereignty of Iraq, it should help spark patriotic feeling. And Americans know how to fan patriotic flames (maybe a pledge and listening to the National anthem a few times a day?). Because until the incoming weapons are stopped, trust in America is somewhat rebuilt, and people think of themselves as Iraqis first and Sunni/Shia second, the violence will continue and get worse.
Iraq is going to be a very fragile country for a long time, with a lot of attractive assets(oil) to some pretty shady regimes in the area. Esp. since it's rumored Iran is low on oil reserves. I think this wall would go a long way in allowing Iraqis the time to take over their own country and setup a government that works for them. It would also speed up the departure of American troops from Iraq, so they can get back to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other countries that actually do have Al-Qaeda cells.
Well, for my first real diary, this has gone on long enough and I'll yield the floor. Again, please feel free to pick this apart, tweak, add, or remove whatever won't work, or even tackle another Iraq problem entirely, there is plenty of work to go around. And if Bush won't do it, someone has to step up. Kossaks have some good ideas, so let's see if we can come up with something useful to pitch to the Dems in Congress.