Exit Plan

It took 3 weeks to invade, disband the Iraqi army, and take Baghdad. I don't see why it should take more than 3 months to leave. You've got the Sunni militia, the Shiite militia, the Kurdish militia, and the American militia. You've got all the militias fighting each-other and then you've got fighting within the main sects. Shia fighting Shia. We are just another militia. It's insane.

3 months everybody out - including all the contractors and all the oil companies. We don't keep any military bases, and we don't guard any oil wells. No more training Iraqi police. No more hearing we need to give the Iraqi's a deadline to take control of this province or that province. No more waiting for the Iraqi government to get a grip.
The only American presence remaining in Iraq should be our heavily guarded embassy. It should be renamed The American Center for the Reconstruction. It should be staffed with diplomats, consulting engineers, and intelligence people. The mission statement is simple. We are there to fund the reconstruction. Only Iraqi's are eligible for the funds. Funds are dispersed based upon performance and withheld from those suspected of violence and corruption.

We have destroyed much of their infrastructure. They only have a few hours of electricity a day. Clean water is scarce, and unemployment is very high. They have too much time on their hands. They are well armed and justifiably very angry. What do we expect them to do? Lets leave, and then hire them to rebuild their own country. It's the best prescription for peace.

If we convince the Iraqis that this is not the typical US embassy whose purpose is expanding the empire, then they will not bite the hand that feeds them, they will set to work rebuilding their country and the violence will subside.

The problem with my plan is that it is totally antithetical to the goals of the Bush Administration. They want a permanent military presence in the Middle East. They want to control the flow of oil. They want a constant state of war because it pays billions to the military industrial complex. They want to keep the people in a constant state of fear. Our job, therefore, is to remove the Bush Administration.