Foreign Policy – Iraq & Afghanistan (Policy Proposal #15)

Proposed Policy

A) We need to publish a clear exit plan while the military surge continues. We must state that this is their country and we will not stay. We would then formulate a plan for the transition and have a formal hand-over ceremony.

B) After the formal hand-over the military needs to be pulled out. No military bases, no advisers, nothing, only an embassy.

What would this accomplish?

A1, B1) This would put an end to a situation that has no end in sight. The Arab world should be reassured that we have no intention to occupy their land, take their oil, or infringe on their religion. This should be the start of eliminating any reason for Al Qaeda or other organization to target the US as an Arab aggressor. To date we have only reinforced their cause. The Arab world can now be responsible for their destiny.

A2, B2) We can free up funds for Social Security or other purposes. We have spent $415 billion on Iraq and $190 billion on Afghanistan. Yes, that’s B for a billion! The budget for 2007-2008 is nearly $200 billion!

Commentary

Things have changed since we started the Iraq and Afghan campaigns. We made errors and miscalculations. When business conditions change, a company must be flexible and change course. We are now in that situation. The military surge is presently working, but will not hold if we back down. How many years must we do this? Forever? We must follow through with a formal timetable and hand-over plan to have a chance for success.

In the future we should not be in the occupation, security, or nation building business. A change of administration is the ideal time to make a change in course.

Regarding oil, over time all these countries will sell us their oil. Business and trade will prevail.