Iraqi Government To Announce Peace Plan

• June 23, 2006

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.
Mr al-Talabani told The Times that after a “summit” in Baghdad about a month ago the groups made clear their willingness to commence talks with the Iraqi Government, although he was awaiting a formal response.
But one big potential obstacle is whether the US would be willing to grant an amnesty to insurgents who have killed US soldiers but who are not members of extreme groups such as al-Qaeda. The Bush Administration is thought to be split on the issue.

Without knowing any specifics about this plan I have to say that it sounds promising.
The idea of granting amnesty to insurgents who have killed coalition troops during the war gives a lot of Americans heart burn, including Say Anything’s own Ken McCracken. As hard as it may be to swallow the idea of granting any sort of amnesty to people who have killed Americans, this is exactly how wars are ended.
It is important to differentiate between “terrorists” and “insurgents” in Iraq. Put simplisticly, terrorists are those who use atrocities to wage their war and/or are fighting against the formation of a democratic government in Iraq. Insurgents are typically just fighting because we Americans are in their country and they see us as occupiers. If the Iraqi government can get the latter to lay down their arms and engage in the democratic process in exchange for amnesty and the promised departure of American troops I think they have to go for it.
This is how peace is made. This is the way out of Iraq. I hope that when the Iraqi government officially announces this the Bush administration gives it their full endorsement (assuming no pesky details emerge).

Tags: War On Terror

http://Array richard

As usual I never stated at all that we were soveriegn and I would be happy to answer right after you explain to me what partial sovereignty is. Ii am assuming in you world that means they were just kind of occupied.
Bat One

Colin Powell is no longer Secretary of State… and neither, thankfully, is the idiot Madeline Albright.

If General Powell had done his job as the our nation’s chief diplomat, there may not have been an “insurgency” in Iraq in the first place.
diane

. I never cared much for people who would act against their nations best interests.

That’s why I’m so anti-Bush.
diane

Amnesty will be defacto, cause they’re Iraqis and we’re not.

You mean it’s their country? Yeah, like Karzai just said about the Taliban: “They’re sons”.

There’s no telling where the money went.

http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/about_hal/tappan.html

They got their share.
Carrick

I was thinking of a zippier tittle, like “Iraq: The End Game”

The fact is, in spite of a number of rather major blunders (most when Herr Bremmer was dictator of Iraq, that being chief), there has been an overall order to the process in Iraq, which the insurgency has consistently failed to slow down let alone stop.

This includes of course:
1) formation of interim government
2) drawing up and ratification of first constitution protecting basic human rights in Arab country
3) voting in duly elected Iraqi government, establishment of full Iraqi sovereignty.
4) Training the military/police force, improve security in troubled Sunni provinces.

Now there’s a new one:

5) Reincorporation of the Iraqi Insurgents, dissolution of the insurgency.

If this succeeds, the Democrats who bet on us losing in Iraq may suddenly be facing serious consequences in their home districts. We can always hope. I never cared much for people who would act against their nations best interests.
carrick

RIchard:

You say that we didn’t have mile markers or goals with dates attached to them.

This is also simply wrong. When stage 1 was completed (the establishment of a provisional governance), dates were established for the other stages as well. And, these dates have been met. Even with the slippage of the formation of the new government, they still met the deadlines established by their constitution.

Secondly, Iraq did not have sovereignty of their own nation from somewhere late in March, 2003 until June 28, 2004. After that, they had limited sovereignty until the formation of a government duly elected by the people in Iraq. That has just happened.

The only thing left is to establish Iraqi-based security. The goal is to have enough security in place to start moving our boots off Iraqi streets by Christmas. That’s a published goal as well, by the way.

Finally, wars don’t operate like business administration. They are very messy even when they go well. There are so many variables that nobody can really predict the short-term consequences of an action. It is really a bit like operating a bulldozer. You don’t know what you’re going to dig up, but if you keep it pointed in the right direction, you get the work done eventually.
robert108

According to Zarqawi’s thumbdrive, our plan is working very well.
richard

Rob I am not ignoring those accomplishments and I am not saying that any date is set in stone it is a plan, plans need to have flexibility built into them. Kind of like when the did not meet the date for the government to be in place they adjusted from the initial date. This enemy of democracy thing is getting old they do not have a date right now and the bombs keep going off.

I like the petulant thing let us throw more ask you r Dad if he had a business plan when he started his business, when he says of course ask if he ever had to adjust the plan, bet his answer is yes again.

My point is if if the Irqi government can come up with a plan that has time lines then we can’t we?
diane

Rabbi Dov Zakheim might have some answers for you:

Caryn Litt writes (http://www.mll.gr/Kat/History/WTC/ZakheinDov.htm): “A Republican, Zakheim joined the Department of Defense in 1981, under then President Ronald Reagan. He was responsible for such tasks as preparing defense planning guidance for nuclear war.
“Zakheim, known as a conservative thinker on defense and national security issues, was invited, in 1999, to serve on the ‘Vulcans’, a volunteer team of foreign policy experts that advised then Texas Governor George W. Bush on international affairs.

“Zakheim was sworn in as the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Defense on May 4, 2001. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, impressed with Zakheim’s experience with ballistic missile proliferation and his recognition of the importance of space in military affairs, had asked Zakheim to take on the position.

“As Chief Financial Officer, Zakheim’s priority has been financial management. Because of the war in Afghanistan, his office has been forced to prepare five budgets in less than a year, including the recent $20 billion supplemental war package.

Where is he now, anyway?

Zakheim, who is a dual Israeli/American citizen and a Shul Rabbi, has stalked the halls of US government for 25 yrs. He has set defense policy which influenced Presidents Reagan, Clinton and Bush Sr. and Jr. This rabid Zionist was the controller of the Pentagon when an audit discovered over a trillion dollars was missing.

Most of Israel’s armament was obtained thanks to him. Squads of US F-16 and F-15 were classified as military surplus and sold to Israel at a fraction of their value.
richard

Only if I had an endless supply of revenue (tax money) since I do not have that they would love me right up to bankruptcy.
richard

Gee thanks now that you have shed your light on it how could I have ever doubted that there was a clear cut plan.

You guys kill me. GW could shit down your neck and you would comment on how warm the weather was.

The only place I have heard about any stages is here. And you qoute one date.

Oh and I never said war was like a business. I said.

If I managed my business the way this war has been managed I would not have a business. But I guess that is why the govenment is where it is they do not have to worry about failure they will still be in business the next day regardless.

And what that meant was the management sucks.
richard

That is not a plan. A plan has goals and mile markers in it. A plan states this will happen at this time and if it does not this is the result. I do not want an abritrary pull out date I want numbers by this date we will be doing this at this level, I ddo not hink we will ever totally pull out.

I am not whining I am simply stating that you guys are smarter than that, my 15 year old knows how to set better goals.
diane

Former Under Secretary of Defense, Comptroller and Chief Financial Officer, Dov Zakheim, quietly resigned from his top Pentagon position recently..One of the highest positions in American federal government..and it is staffed by an individual who has “dual citizenship.”… add to it the fact that Zakheim cannot or will not account for a one trillion dollar discrepancy in the Pentagon’s books!!! When I served as Chief Financial Officer for a Defense Department position, I not only had to take a loyalty oath to our government, I had to sign an annual certification letter attesting to my appropriate handling of government [taxpayer] funds as well as filing an annual financial disclosure form regarding my personal finances. How can one trillion dollars disappear without a trace? Where’s the FBI?! Where’s the IRS? Where’s the GAO, the Government Accountability Office that found the “errors?” Where’s the United States Congress, or at least the Democrats there? Where’s the press, the media?

http://www.rense.com/general65/swishhorrificmedia.htm
Bat One

Funny that they can come up with a plan but we can not.

Richard,

Funny that you seem unable to grasp the concept that it is now their government and their sovereignty. From the beginning, the central idea has been for the Iraqis to organize their own permanent government, and then take over the responsibilities of actually governing… including dealing with the “insurgents.”
Bat One

What was the “exit strategy” for World War II? How about the Union’s “exit strategy” during the Civil War? The American Revolutionary War? What was George Washington’s “exit strategy?” While wee’re on the subject, what has been the “exit strategy” for our UN sponsored adventure in the Balkans?

In a sense, the term “exit strategy” has taken on a thoroughly regretable life of its own… much like a similar leftist buzz phrase of a few years back… Peace Process.

As a Vietnam vet myself, I have nothing but respect for General Colin Powell and many of the other fine officers who were just starting their military careers during the Vietnam era. But their politically correct contribution to our national vocabulary of warfare is a hideous blunder. The phrase itself is a cop out… an excuse for not acknowledging the true nature of war and the necessity of winning and not merely treading water.
richard

I think you ar eignoring the fact that we have been lucky to hav made the progress that we have. From day one this war has been very off the cuff. You can get lucky some of the time but you can ever be successful relying on luck.

You say that I am ignoring stuff however, you sir just keep saying the same thing over and over again. I ask you about the last stages of the plan, I ask how do we know when to move onto the next stage, I get no answer that I find acceptable.

If I managed my business the way this war has been managed I would not have a business. But I guess that is why the govenment is where it is they do not have to worry about failure they will still be in business the next day regardless.
richard

Funny I thought they were always a sovereign nation with it’s own government.

Rob what is our exit stratgey exactly. And do not give me that shit about we will leave when they can take ove that is not a plan.
richard

First I apologize for my rambling typing skills. I am trying to do eight things at once like normal and I type like I talk. My apologies.

I am not denying the progress. I agree it is there a lot more recently in fact.

You say that we are in the last stages of a larger plan.

My question how many stages were in the plan?

How many stages are in the final stages?

What do we have to accomplish to move on to the next stage?

See in this case I am not even asking for dates just markers that say OK now that this is accomplished, we do this.

Oh and one last thing who came up with this plan that you say we are in the final stages of?
realitybasedbob

If I managed my business the way this war has been managed I would not have a business.

Yeah, but your subcontractors would love the hell out of you.
diane

They need a peace plan, but what they are saying is there is a state of emergency. Still, I’m sure we’re ‘winning the war on terror’.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13495871/

Updated: 6:09 p.m. ET June 23, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraq’s government clamped a state of emergency on Baghdad and ordered everyone off the streets Friday after U.S. and Iraqi forces battled insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades and rifles near the heavily fortified Green Zone.

The military also announced the deaths of five more U.S. troops in a particularly violent week for American forces that included the discovery of the brutalized bodies of two soldiers. Twelve U.S. service members have died or been found dead this week.

The fierce fighting in the heart of Baghdad came despite a crackdown launched 10 days ago that put tens of thousands of U.S.-backed Iraqi troops on the streets as the new prime minister sought to restore a modicum of safety for the capital’s 6 million people.
richard

Well you can not say that I did not try, Thanks for the cantor.
richard

Funny that they can come up with a plan but we can not.
diane

Iraq wants us out and Colin said we’d leave if they asked us to, didn’t he? I’ll have to check on that.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13521628/site/newsweek/

By Rod Nordland
Newsweek
Updated: 12:42 p.m. ET June 24, 2006
June 24, 2006 – A timetable for withdrawal of occupation troops from Iraq. Amnesty for all insurgents who attacked U.S. and Iraqi military targets. Release of all security detainees from U.S. and Iraqi prisons. Compensation for victims of coalition military operations.

Those sound like the demands of some of the insurgents themselves, and in fact they are. But they’re also key clauses of a national reconciliation plan drafted by new Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who will unveil it Sunday. The provisions will spark sharp debate in Iraq–but the fiercest opposition is likely to come from Washington
richard

Sorry could not let this go.

Ok Carrick has the first stage with a date then a lot of and then this happened and this happened.

Rob has the last stage with no tie to any stages before.

Carrick has Iraq’s sovereignty being turned on and off.

And I am unable to see the plan.

Let’s see if we can make this easy for you guys.

I am playing hop scotch, the first and last square I can see and all the squares in between. I know that I have to hop on one foot, landing one foot in each sqaure, with one foot held up, but I have a marker thrown by my opponent in one of the squares, now I have to figure out how to get around that…..A PLAN.

Now you guys……

OOOOPs classified.
Carrick

Richard:

Carrick has Iraq’s sovereignty being turned on and off.

Um… Richard, if you can explain how a country that has been occupied by a foreign army maintains it’s own sovereignty, I’d be delighted to hear it.
WOOF

Except for being years and thousands of dead and maimed late it’s all good.
Amnesty will be defacto, cause they’re Iraqis and we’re not.

There’s no telling where the money went.
diane

Well, BatOne, are you saying that the United States does not honor its’ word if the person who said it is no longer in the same position as when he said it in an official capacity..or what?

I wouldn’t be surprised if we did business like that these days. In your ‘company’, if a company official made a policy statement representing your company, would you not honor that if he left the company? I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t, either.

The Iraqis have about had it with all the ‘coalition of the willing’. British SAS arrested by Iraqi policeman for being dressed like Arabs with explosives in their trunk, they want the U.S. to get out and now they’ve finally had enough, possibly, of the Australians as well, for good reason:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/furious-iraq-demands-apology/2006/06/22/1150845315009.html#

Furious Iraq demands apology

AUSTRALIA’S relations with the Iraqi Government were severely fractured yesterday with the Iraqi Trade Minister threatening to ditch all trade deals after Australian military forces opened fire on his bodyguards, killing one and injuring four others…The Iraqi Trade Minister, Abdul Falah al-Sudany, is demanding an apology and compensation from the Howard Government.…Yesterday the vice-chief of the Defence Force, Lieutenant-General Ken Gillespie, confirmed that members of the Australian security detachment had been involved in the incident and he issued a statement saying the Defence Force “deeply regrets” the incident.
News of the fatal shooting broke just hours before the Prime Minister, John Howard, told Parliament that Australian forces would be staying in Iraq to take on a new, possibly more dangerous mission…However, despite delivering a long statement about Australia’s new role in Iraq, neither Mr Howard, the Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, nor the Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, offered a formal apology to the Iraqis.
Carrick

Richard, what I posted certainly looks like a plan. And as I pointed out, pretty ordered at that.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

Our plan to this point has been exactly what Carrick laid out above. Toppling Saddam. Elections to install a government. Now we just have to leave the government in a situation where it can take care of itself. That means continuing to train and help Iraqi security forces and facilitating (I hope) the plan outlined above.

That’s a pretty specific plan, but tell me Richard: Are you really looking for a plan or are you just bellyaching for some arbitrary pull-out date?

Funny I thought they were always a sovereign nation with it’s own government.

Saddam had a sovereign nation with it’s own government. The people had nothing. Now “they” do.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

Richard, I’m having trouble even comprehending what you’re typing…but let me take a stab at this:

Rob I am not ignoring those accomplishments

And yet in this comment you said this:

A plan has goals and mile markers in it.

I pointed out to you our past goals and mile markers. Clearly you are dismissive of them. We are in the last stages of a larger plan, but you keep trying to focus on one tree in the forest.

if the Irqi government can come up with a plan that has time lines then we can’t we?

The Iraqis are running things for themselves now. Our plan has always been to leave a) when the Iraqis no longer need us or b) when the Iraqis ask us to leave.

Whichever comes first.

Honestly, if you’d quit trying to be angry about this and actually spent some time reviewing the situation in Iraq you’d see that we have made steady progress, are continuing to make steady progress and that if we keep this progress up we’ll be out of there just as soon as we can be.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

Richard, what a total canard.

Our plan, from the start, has been to topple Saddam and set up a government and leave that government with the ability to defend itself. Along the way we have done our best to secure the country while the government forms and Iraqi security forces are trained.

The “plan” is nothing more than a set of policy decisions made by President Bush and his administration as decisions have been needed. They’ve made mistakes, but our objectives have always been clear.

Oppose the terrorists.

Hold elections.

Facilitate the formation of the government.

Train Iraqi security forces.

Leave the country able to defend itself.

Your complaining about the lack of a plan is nothing more than an intended distraction from the progress we’ve made. There is a famous quote that goes something like “no plan survives the first engagement with the enemy.” Writing a plan just to satisfy critics of the war would be a waste of time. It would have to be changed anyway as situations in Iraq change, and it wouldn’t satisfy the critics anyway.

Look at you in this thread. I point out steady progress and clear objectives, and you’re never satisfied. I get the feeling that you’ll be complaining about a plan until the day when our troops are leaving Iraq with our mission completed.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

Saying “there’s no plan for Iraq” is sort of like saying “this economy sucks.” Neither are true, unless all you’re going on is the conventional wisdom respresented in the media and bandied about by the left.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

We do have a goal, and that goal is leaving the Iraqi government capable of defending itself. We cannot announce a date for that goal because it would simply give the enemies of democracy in Iraq a date to shoot for.

You can be petulant all you want, but the truth of the matter is that we have made steady progress that our enemies in Iraq have been unable stop. You talk of milesmarkers…what were the various elections? The writing of the constitution? The formation of a government?

All milemarkers, yet you ignore them.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

I think, richard, you need to stop worrying about plans and start focusing on the very real progress we’ve made and are making.

We are winning this war, you’re crying about a plan.

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