[Pacg] Action Alert: Action on Use of Force in Iraq

[Carolina 1961]

*This letter appeared in the Boston Globe from Sen Joe Biden.  Let our
elected representatives know what you think they should be doing to end our
involvement in Iraq and to head off threatened incursions into Iran.*
*Cathy Bolkcom  cbarts4 at aol.com*
**
*Congress Should Repeal its Authorization to Use Force in Iraq*

*Boston Globe*

February 27, 2007

By Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Two weeks ago, Congress made clear its opposition to President Bush's plan
to send more US troops to Iraq.

Opposing the surge is only a first step. There needs to be a radical change
in course in Iraq. The pressure is building on Congress -- especially
Republicans -- to act if the president will not.

The best next step is to revisit the authorization Congress granted Bush in
2002 to use force in Iraq.

We gave the president that power to destroy Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction and, if necessary, to depose Saddam Hussein. The weapons of mass
destruction were not there. Saddam Hussein is no longer there. The 2002
authorization is no longer relevant to the situation in Iraq.

Together with Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services
Committee, I will offer legislation to repeal that authorization and replace
it with a much narrower and achievable mission for our troops in Iraq.

Congress should make clear what the mission of our troops is: to deny
terrorists a safe haven, train Iraqis, and help Iraq defend its borders. We
should set as a goal removing from Iraq all US combat forces not necessary
for this limited mission by early 2008, as the bipartisan Iraq Study Group
recommends.

Congress also should make clear that the troops should not stay in Iraq
indefinitely and get mired in a civil war.

Repealing and replacing the 2002 authorization is not micromanagement from
Washington, it is matching our soldiers' mission to the changing realities
in Iraq.

Revisiting the 2002 authorization is the right next step but it cannot be
the last step. The United States must also answer a two-word test: "What
next?"

Everyone wants to get the troops out of Iraq as soon and as safely as
possible. There is great political reward in saying, "I can get us out the
fastest."

But while leaving Iraq is necessary, it is not a plan. There needs to be a
plan for what we leave behind so that we do not trade a dictator for chaos
that engulfs Iraq and spreads throughout the Middle East.

Nine months ago, Leslie Gelb of the Council on Foreign Relations and I
proposed a plan, which offers a roadmap to a political settlement in Iraq
that gives its warring factions a way to share power peacefully and us a
chance to leave with our interests intact.

The plan would decentralize Iraq and give Kurds, Shi'ites, and Sunnis
control over their daily lives; bring the Sunnis in by guaranteeing them a
fair share of the oil; enlist the support of Iraq's neighbors and the
world's major powers to promote the plan with the Iraqis; and withdraw US
combat forces by 2008. You can read the details at
PlanForIraq.com<http://ga3.org/ct/up35dJ91Gz0h/>.
http://www.planforiraq.com/

The Bush administration has bet everything on a future that will not happen:
Iraqis rallying behind a strong central government that protects the rights
of all citizens equally.

Since the onset of sectarian war, there is no trust within the central
government, no trust of the government by the people and no capacity by the
government to deliver services and security. There is no evidence that we
can build that trust and capacity any time soon.

There are two other ways to govern Iraq from the center: A foreign
occupation that the United States cannot sustain or the return of a
strongman, who is not on the horizon.

That leaves federalism -- an idea a majority of Iraqis have already endorsed
in their constitution.

Our plan offers a way to make federalism work for all Iraqis. And it offers
the possibility -- not the guarantee -- of producing a soft landing in Iraq.
That would be the best possible outcome for Iraq and for America.

*Joseph R. Biden Jr. is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.*

*Thanks, *
Cathy Bolkcom
Progressive Action for the Common Good
563-505-0183
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