My Iraq Plan

Let it not be said that I criticize our Iraq policies without offering alternative suggestions. Here they are:

Set a timetable, firstly. From the military experts I have heard, the military is used to working with timetables. Not having them actually hurts morale. I would let Maliki know that the US military presence in Iraq will be reduced to 25,000 by 1/1/08. He knows he has plenty of time to drag his feet and placate his radical Shi'a base because of the "stay the course" attitude. Let him know otherwise.

Then let's stop playing sides. The Sunnis attack us because they know we have the Shi'a govt's back. Recognize there is a low-level civil war underway. We can't afford to play sides or else we become a proxy target. So many US troops are dying for that very reason.

Use the forces we do keep in Iraq to work more on intelligence and special ops rather than the general policing and checkpointing that has been the focus of US troops in Baghdad and beyond.

Demand Maliki (and the Kurks) share the oil wealth with disenfranchised Sunnis. A true social program here could go a long way to quell uprisings. This is not happening now at all.

Acknowledge that mistakes have been made. New leadership is needed at the Pentagon. That means bye-bye Rummy. Nominate a moderate Dem for Sec of Def to reach out to the other side and the rest of America. Sam Nunn comes to mind, if interested. I'm sure there are plenty of others.

Double our forces in Afghanistan. Let a strong showing of American force there start to rebuild our lost credibility in the Middle East.

Demand Pakistan get back on our side in the "war on terror." They have not arrested a single Al Queda suspect since 2001. We know Pakistan is an informal ally of the Taliban. Do something about it diplomatically.

This is just a beginning. I hope to see some of this before Jan 2009 because it would be so much more effective now.