[Grovenet] After the Elections: Negotiating the Next Steps in Iraq - FCNL

[Ed Davie]

After the Elections: Negotiating the Next Steps in 
Iraq - FCNL

                       After the Elections: 
Negotiating the Next Steps in Iraq - FCNL
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                  November 8, 2006

                  The midterm elections this week 
were, more than anything else, a referendum on the 
failed U.S. war and military occupation of Iraq. 
The people of this country have spoken. The voters 
in this country are saying they will not sacrifice 
the lives of their loved ones for a failed war in 
Iraq.

                  The results of this 
congressional election will force a change in U.S. 
policy in Iraq. But what kind of change?

                  The president today accepted the 
resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald 
Rumsfeld. But changing the Secretary of Defense 
will not change the administration's policy. The 
stated policy remains: "victory in Iraq."

                  The problem is not the people in 
office, the problem is the policy. At a press 
briefing Wednesday afternoon, President Bush 
acknowledged the need to "adjust" U.S. 
implementation of his policy in Iraq, and then 
added he still believes the U.S. can still "win" a 
military victory in Iraq. The president has not 
accepted that his policies have made the U.S. part 
of the problem, rather than part of the solution 
in Iraq.

                  The U.S. still has 150,000 
military troops in Iraq. The violence is 
escalating and spreading throughout the region. 
The president is planning to ask Congress next 
February, according to press reports, to approve 
another "emergency" supplemental appropriation of 
$160 billion in funding for the U.S. war and 
military occupation.

                  Now it's up to Congress to 
demand that the president change course in Iraq. 
The goal should be to end the U.S. war and 
military occupation in Iraq. That goal will have 
to be embraced by both parties to be successful. 
Congress and the president need to accept the 
reality that no possible outcome will be a victory 
for anyone in Iraq. The best that can be done now 
will be to limit the damage, reduce the lethality 
of the conflict, and prevent a failed state by 
removing one of the biggest problems there, i.e. 
the U.S. military presence.

                  The mid-term elections will send 
new leadership to Congress. But neither the 
Democrats working alone nor the Republicans 
working alone will be able to force a change in 
U.S. policy toward Iraq. Bipartisan cooperation 
will be essential to exercise congressional power 
sufficient to check the misguided executive 
branch.

                  We at FCNL believe Congress 
needs to develop a strategy to withdraw U.S. 
military forces and to end the U.S. military 
occupation. Withdrawal of U.S. military forces is 
a necessary, prior condition for ending the war, 
but it is not a sufficient condition. Members of 
Congress from both parties have spoken out against 
the current U.S. strategy in Iraq. To be 
successful, any new congressional initiative will 
have to be a bipartisan effort for a U.S. policy 
that:

                  1. Sets a date certain for U.S. 
military withdrawal;
                  2. Brings the armed Iraqi 
nationalist resistance to the negotiating table;
                  3. Simultaneously starts up a 
regional process - including Syria and Iran -- to 
support and stabilize Iraq; and
                  4. Provides U.S. underwriting 
for Iraqi-led reconstruction.

                  As Quakers we're opposed to all 
funding for war. But we know that Congress will 
continue to pass "emergency" supplemental 
appropriations for the U.S. war and occupation in 
Iraq. At a minimum, members of Congress from both 
parties should condition any additional funding 
for the Iraq war on this four-point plan for an 
expeditious U.S. military withdrawal.

                  Read more about FCNL's proposals 
to change the course in Iraq.

                  Read more about FCNL's Iraq 
Peace Campaign.

                  ________________________________________

                  Contact Congress and the 
Administration

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                  ________________________________________

                  Friends Committee on National 
Legislation
                  245 Second St. NE, Washington, 
DC 20002-5795
                  fcnl at fcnl.org * 
http://www.fcnl.org
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toll-free: (800)630-1330

                  We seek a world free of war and 
the threat of war
                  We seek a society with equity 
and justice for all
                  We seek a community where every 
person's potential may be fulfilled
                  We seek an earth restored.





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