Peace Solutions for Iraq

By Jeralyn, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 12:12:53 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)

Share This: Digg!

Writing in the Independent, Ali Allawi, former Iraqi Defence Minister provides a blueprint for peace in Iraq.

It's a five part plan, the components of which he lists at the end.

The result of his plan, he writes, would be "three interlinked outcomes":

The first would be a decentralised Iraqi state with new regional governing authorities with wide powers and resources. Devolution of power must be fair, well planned, and executed with equitable revenue-distribution. Federal institutions would have to act as adjudicators between regions. Security must be decentralised until such time as confidence between the communities is re-established.

The second essential outcome would be a treaty that would establish a confederation or constellation of states of the Middle East, initially including Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. The main aim of the confederation would be to establish a number of conventions and supra-regional bodies that would have the effect of acting as guarantors of civil, minority and community rights.

Independent reporter Patrick Cockburn says of the plan:

Ali A Allawi, until recently an Iraqi minister, is one of Iraq's most respected Shia politicians of the post-Saddam era. His study of the crisis in Iraq is by far the most perceptive analysis of the extent of the disaster in his country, and how it might best be resolved. It is in sharp contrast to the ill-thought-out maunderings of experts and officials devising fresh policies in the White House and Downing Street.

Also from Cockburn, How the U.S. and Britain made a martyr out of Saddam.

< Chevy Chase Writes About Gerald Ford | Murder in Haditha >

Legal

Nothing on this site should be construed as legal advice. TalkLeft does not give legal advice.

TalkLeft is not responsible for and often disagrees with material posted in the comments section. Read at your own risk.

Peace Solutions for Iraq | 10 comments (10 topical)

Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

At least (none / 0) (#1)
by Edger on Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 12:32:41 PM EST

it is a home grown Iraqi plan. It also has the support of much the UK political establishment:

Among those backing the proposals were Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat leader; Liam Fox, the Conservative defence spokesman; Denis MacShane, the former Europe minister; Tony Lloyd, chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, and Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former Conservative foreign secretary.
...
Sir John Walker, Intelligence chief and author of pre-war report on invading Iraq:

Some of us had warned about the inherent dangers of the second Iraq war, but we had not anticipated the magnitude of the cock-up. The Americans have behaved irrationally in Iraq and a blueprint for a solution from an Iraqi public figure is welcome.

Nadim Shehadi, Associate fellow, Chatham House:
The main emphasis here is on the Iraq government taking the initiative. The whole conception of the plan changes the image of the Iraq government from a failed project the international community has to fix to the main engine for fixing the regional and world's problems. But you cannot fix the crises in the region - Iraq, Palestine or Lebanon - independently.

*my italics

Bush and Blair I think will look more and more like idiots if they don't climb aboard. But that is what they do best...

McGovern-Polk plan to get U.S. out of Iraq in 6 mo (none / 0) (#2)
by MSS on Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 02:05:17 PM EST

Sen. George McGovern and William Polk have a plan to get U.S. out of Iraq in 6 months! <http://impracticalproposals.blogspot.com/2006/11/iraq-mcgovern-and-me-now-its-your-move.html>
They interviewed military and political experts, tallied options and costs, and wrote a book detailing the options.

The cost of this plan? Around $12 billion... or, at the current $250 million-a-day cost of the war, about seven weeks cost.

McGovern and Polk have a simple, eloquent, cost-effective, moral and diplomatically ideal plan, published in their book Out of Iraq and summarized in a recent issue of Harper's.
The highpoints of the plan are these:
* Withdraw American military forces and private mercenaries within 6 months, beginning in December
* Terminate all post-war oil contracts and return the Iraqi oil industry to Iraqis
* Adopt and implement an economic plan that would:
1. Rebuild Iraqi infrastructure,
2. Build hospitals and schools,
3. Close U.S. prisons in Iraq and release P.O.W.s,
4. Eliminate U.S. bases,
5. Provide financial assistance to create a national reconstruction corps,
6. Provide for an independent audit of all funds spent on the war,
7. Fund reparations to Iraqi civilians,
8. Fully fund veterans' services in the U.S.,
9. Rebuild Babylon, and
10. Finance the creation of a national Iraqi police force (instead of an Army).
Additionally, they insist the United States must offer condolences to Iraq. This significant gesture is non- negotiable.
The cost of this plan? Around $12 billion... or, at the current $250 million-a-day cost of the war, about seven weeks cost.

For more information on the McGovern-Polk plan, you can get the McGovern - Polk book at Amazon.com <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1416534563/johngabreessa-20>

Read an excerpt <http://www.impracticalproposals.com/OutOfIraqNow.html>

Look for the Harper's article about the plan
<http://www.harpers.org/TheWayOutOfWar.html>

: links need to be in html format (none / 0) (#3)
by Jeralyn on Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 02:06:52 PM EST

mss, in the future, please use the link buttons and put the links in html format or they skew the site, thanks!

Yankee go home (none / 0) (#4)
by Al on Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 03:21:27 PM EST

It sounds like Allawi is saying that the regional powers should solve the conflict in Iraq. Not the US, not the UN. This is realistic, and therefore a good start.

Interesting that he doesn't mention Saudi Arabia, though.

: It appears there is some playing off of one (none / 0) (#5)
by Edger on Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 04:18:48 PM EST

against another going on. Maybe Allawi is trying to drive a wedge between Jordan and the Saudis?
From Allawis' Independent article:
Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, linchpins of the American security order in the Arab world, cannot accept the principle of a Shia-dominated Iraq, each for its own reasons. They will do their utmost to thwart such a possibility, and failing that, will probably try to isolate such an entity from regional counsels
He talks of a
confederation or constellation of states of the Middle East, initially including Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan
He surely knows how strong the ties between Saudi Arabia and the US are. Is he making a veiled threat to Jordan? If they are not part of such a confederation they will end up surrounded by Shia states hostile to them for not supporting his recreating an independent Iraq?

Peace plan (none / 0) (#6)
by koshembos on Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 07:43:38 PM EST

Not serious. Starting from a division that the Shia does want will get you to a newspaper and sop there.

peace plan (none / 0) (#7)
by diogenes on Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 10:14:38 PM EST

Syria and Lebanon are part of a confederation when Syria is murdering Lebanese politicians? Guaranteed security is to be provided by whom until the Iraqis can take over? The Arabs have never been able to unite on anything except for their hatred of Shiites and Jews; it's hard to see them stepping up to guarantee fairness to Shiites and Kurds.
These calls for regional federations remind one that if wishes were horses then rides would be free.

Yes.... (none / 0) (#8)
by Edger on Sun Jan 07, 2007 at 06:44:20 AM EST

These calls for regional federations remind one that if wishes were horses then rides would be free.

Similar to Bush supporters believing that Bush's intentions were to impose "freedom and democracy" on Iraq.


funny, bushco said ... (none / 0) (#9)
by Sailor on Sun Jan 07, 2007 at 12:28:05 PM EST

... there was no ethnic strife in iraq, the reconstruction would pay for itself and Americans wo0uld be greeted as liberators.

Mr. Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary, opened a two-front war of words on Capitol Hill, calling the recent estimate by Gen. Eric K. Shinseki of the Army that several hundred thousand troops would be needed in postwar Iraq, "wildly off the mark." Pentagon officials have put the figure closer to 100,000 troops.
[...]
Mr. Wolfowitz ticked off several reasons why he believed a much smaller coalition peacekeeping force than General Shinseki envisioned would be sufficient to police and rebuild postwar Iraq. He said there was no history of ethnic strife in Iraq, as there was in Bosnia or Kosovo. He said Iraqi civilians would welcome an American-led liberation force that "stayed as long as necessary but left as soon as possible,"
[...]
Mr. Wolfowitz spent much of the hearing knocking down published estimates of the costs of war and rebuilding, saying the upper range of $95 billion was too high, and that the estimates were almost meaningless because of the variables. Moreover, he said such estimates, and speculation that postwar reconstruction costs could climb even higher, ignored the fact that Iraq is a wealthy country, with annual oil exports worth $15 billion to $20 billion. "To assume we're going to pay for it all is just wrong," he said.

They've lied all along about iraq.

BTW, Shiites are arabs.


: For a guy who (none / 0) (#10)
by Edger on Sun Jan 07, 2007 at 12:38:31 PM EST

comes with a lantern included, diogenes doesn't see too clearly, sailor.
In, fact he'll probably still not see even after your post.