Ideas for U.S. withdrawl from Iraq?

[greblc]

[madeline_con]

1. I have to say...

we're there, and can't just leave it in the shambles it's in. There are ways to be less heavy-handed in our "liberation", though.

EDIT added:

I think a major issue with the Dem party is how to make some meaningful plan that undoes some of the abyssmal mess Bushco has made. Things are so screwed up, it will take a long time to bring some semblance of sanity back to the situation. This is a really BIG, BIG task.

[LynnTheDem]

12. "It's the OCCUPATION, stupid!"

A fiction as powerful as WMD

...those who are genuinely concerned about withdrawal should examine the facts on the ground before giving support to continued occupation.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1521437,00.html?gusrc=rss

Kurdish leader shuns US move to oust Saddam
http://www.guardian.co.uk/bush/story/0,7369,739916,00.h...

Independent Iraqis Oppose Bush's War
http://www.guardian.co.uk/antiwar/story/0,12809,907780,...

February 2004: 33 percent want withdrawal within a year; 40 percent, withdrawal once an Iraqi government is in place; 27 percent, a longer or more open-ended stay. (Oxford Research International)

March-April 2004: 57 percent, "leave immediately"; 36 percent, "stay longer". (Gallup)

June 2004: 41 percent, "immediate withdrawal"; 45 percent, withdrawal after election of a permanent government; 10 percent, 2 years or longer. (Independent Institute for Administration and Civil Society/CPA).

June 2004: 30 percent desire immediate withdrawal, 51 percent want withdrawal after a government is elected, 13 percent said that Coalition forces should remain until stability was achieved. (Iraq Centre for Research & Strategic Studies)

June 2004: 53 percent say leave now or "within a few months" or "until an Interim Government is in place" or "in six months to a year"; 33.5 percent allow "more than one year" or "until permanent government is in place"; 13.6 percent, even longer if necessary. (Oxford Research International)

January 2005: 82 percent of Sunni Arabs and 69 percent of Shiites favor US withdrawal either immediately or after an elected government is in place. (Zogby)

February 2004: 56.3 percent of Iraqis somewhat or strongly oppose the presence of Coalition forces in Iraq. "Strongly oppose" versus "strongly support" is 2.5-to-1. (Oxford Research International)

March-April 2004: 58 percent say US forces have behaved very or fairly badly; 34 percent say US forces have behaved very or fairly well. The ratio between those saying "very bad" and those saying "very well": 3-to-1. (Gallup/CNN/USA Today)

March-April 2004: 30 percent say that attacks on US forces were somewhat or completely justified; another 22 percent said they were sometimes justified. (Gallup/CNN/USA Today)

May 2004: 87 percent express little or no confidence in US coalition forces; 92 percent view coalition forces as occupiers, rather than liberators or peace keepers. (Independent Institute for Administration and Civil Society/CPA)

June 2004: 67 percent of Iraqis strongly or somewhat oppose the presence of Coalition troops; 30 percent support. (Iraq Centre for Research & Strategic Studies)

June 2004: 58 percent of Iraqis somewhat or strongly oppose the presence of Coalition forces in Iraq. Strongly oppose versus strongly support is 3-to-1. (Oxford Research International)

June 2004: 70 percent say Coalition troops are an occupying or exploiting force; 30 percent say a liberating or peacekeeping force. (Oxford Research International)

June 2004: Majority of Iraqis say invasion was wrong;
Invasion of Iraq was absolutely right say 13.2 percent; somewhat right, 27.6 percent; somewhat wrong, 25.7 percent; absolutely wrong, 33.5 percent. (Oxford Research International)

March-April 2004: 46 percent say the US invasion has done more harm than good; 33 percent say more good. (Gallup)

March-April 2004: 42 percent say Iraq is better off today than before the invasion, 39 percent say worse, 17 percent say the same. (Gallup)

August 2004: 46 percent of Iraqis say their situation has improved since the fall of Hussein, 31 percent say it has grown worse, and 21 percent say it is unchanged. (International Republican Institute)

57% said the coalition should "leave immediately"...
Among respondents in Shi'ite and Sunni Arab areas-- that is, leaving out Kurdish respondents--the numbers favoring an immediate pullout were even higher: 61% to 30% among Shi'ites and 65% to 27% among Sunnis.

In Baghdad, where U.S. forces are concentrated, the numbers were highest of all: 75% favored an immediate pullout, with only 21% opposed.
http://baltimorechronicle.com/060304Media.html

Iraq Center for Research and Strategic Studies, which is partly funded by the State Department and has coordinated its work with the Coalition Provisional Authority, more than half of all Iraqis-- including the Kurds-- want an immediate withdrawal of US forces...
http://baltimorechronicle.com/060304Media.html

The first survey of Iraqis sponsored by the U.S. Coalition Provisional Authority after the Abu Ghraib prison scandal shows that most say they would feel safer if Coalition forces left immediately, without even waiting for elections scheduled for next year.

55% of Iraqis say they would feel safer if Coalition forces departed right away.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5217874/site/newsweek /

2005:

"Every major poll shows an ever-larger majority of Iraqis want the Americans to leave."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6857145/site/newsweek /


Referances:

Press Release, Survey Finds Deep Divisions in Iraq; Sunni Arabs Overwhelmingly Reject Sunday Elections; Majority of Sunnis, Shiites Favor U.S. Withdrawal, New Abu Dhabi TV - Zogby Poll Reveals (Utica, NY: Zogby International, 28 January 2005), available at: http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=957

International Republican Institute polls: Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, September 24 - October 4, 2004 (Washington DC: International Republican Institute, October 2004), available at: http://www.iri.org/pub.asp?id=7676767887 ;Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, July 24 - August 2, 2004 (Washington DC: International Republican Institute, August 2004), available at: http://www.iri.org/pub.asp?id=7676767885

Oxford Research International polls: National Survey of Iraq, February 2004 (Oxford, UK: Oxford Research International); National Survey of Iraq, June 2004 (Oxford, UK: Oxford Research International); both available at: http://www.oxfordresearch.com/publications.html

Independent Institute for Administration and Civil Society/CPA poll: Public Opinion in Iraq: First Poll Following Abu Ghraib Revelations 14-23 May 2004 (Baghdad: CPA, May 2004), available at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5217741/site/newsweek /

Gallup poll conducted with USA Today and CNN: Cesar G. Soriano and Steven Komarow, "Poll: Iraqis out of patience," USA Today, 28 April 2004; "Key findings: Nationwide survey of 3,500 Iraqis," USA Today, 28 April 2004, available at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-04-28-gallup-iraq-findings.htm

Also see: Richard Burkholder, Gallup Poll of Iraq: Liberated, Occupied, or in Limbo? (Princeton, NJ: Gallop Organization, 28 April 2004).

Juan Cole, "Spinning Iraqi Opinion at Taxpayer Expense," Antiwar.com, 25 October 2004, available at: http://www.antiwar.com/cole/?articleid=3843

Robin Wright, "Religious Leaders Ahead in Iraq Poll; U.S.-Supported Government Is Losing Ground, Washington Post, 22 October 2004, p. 1;

Mark Turner, "80% of Iraqis want coalition troops out," Financial Times, 7 July 2004;

Michael Hirsh, "Grim Numbers," Newsweek, 16 June 2004;

John Lemke, "Poll: Security, unemployment major problems, UPI, 25 May 2004.

"Opinion Polls in Iraq," Iraqanalysis.org, http://www.iraqanalysis.org/info/55

Iraq Index: Tracking Reconstruction and Security in Post-Saddam Iraq (Washington DC: Brookings Institution), section on public opinion polls; available at: http://www.brookings.edu/iraqindex

Frederick Barton and Bathsheba Crocker, project directors, Progress or Peril? Measuring Iraq's Reconstruction (Washington DC: CSIS, September 2004), available at: http://www.csis.org/features/0410_progressperil.pdf

2003

YouGov poll in Iraq, July 2003;

-Three in four of Baghdad residents say the city is now more dangerous than when Saddam Hussein was in power.

-32 per cent say that everyday life is better now than it was a year ago. Twice as many say it is either just as bad (16 per cent) or actually worse (47 per cent).

-71% want power handed over within 12 months

-56% want US troops to remain for at least 12 months

-Believed reason for bush's war; “to secure oil supplies” (47 per cent) and “to help Israel” (41 per cent). Just 23 per cent said US aim was “to liberate the people of Iraq”, while 7 per cent said “to protect Kuwait”.

The formal reason for going to war, “to find and destroy weapons of mass destruction” came last. Just 6 per cent think this was America’s and Britain’s main motive.

-Opinion of the people of Baghdad towards Americans, three months after they occupied their city; friendly (26 per cent), hostile (18 per cent), 50 per cent feel “neither friendly nor hostile”.
http://www.channel4.com/news/2003/07/week_3/16_poll.html

Iraqis Do Not Trust Americans, Says Poll

-Asked if the US and UK should help make sure a fair government is set up in Iraq, or should the Iraqis work this out themselves, 31.5 per cent wanted help while 58.5 per cent did not.

-Some 38.2 per cent agreed that democracy could work well in Iraq, while 50.2 per cent agreed with the statement that "democracy is a western way of doing things and it will not work here".

-Asked whether in the next five years the US would "help" Iraq, 35.3 per cent said yes while 50 per cent said the US would "hurt" Iraq. Asked the same of the UN, the figures were almost reversed, with 50.2 per cent saying it would help and 18.5 per cent the opposite.

-Reguarding US and British troops, some 31 per cent wanted them to leave in six months and a total of 65.5 per cent in a year. Some 25 per cent said they should stay two years or more.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0911-01.htm

So..still think we have to IGNORE what the majority of Iraqis want, and stay?

[madeline_con]

27. I wasn't supporting continued occupation,

and calling me stupid was just nasty.

We cannot just walk away. We have to implement programs that speed up the process to let Iraqis govern themselves.

If we leave now, there will most definitely be civil war.

The current RW non-plan does not address these problems in a meaningful way. But packing up and saying "Good luck" wouldn't be better after all that's gone on.

[LynnTheDem]

34. Notice the quote marks around the subject?

I wasn't calling you "stupid", I was quoting from the link.

If we leave now, how do YOU know there will be what Iraq has NEVER had?

Are you saying ONLY WE can prevent a civil war? That would be "white man's burden". And gee, we're not doing such a great job at preventing anything, are we.

GET OUT OF IRAQ NOW. That is what the IRAQIS want. Period.

:)

[okieinpain]

20. I agree with you. first thing we need is a new president so the world

will take us seriously.

second: new president needs to step up to the mike and say we fucked up. we're sorry, we need help.

third: pull out the freakin check book, and get ready to pay to get iraq back on it's feet, without the help of haliburton.

forth: get the sunni's and shia's and kurds, and tell them we're getting the fuck out, and that if they want any semblance of a place to call home, that they need to put up some volunteers, to be trained by someone other then the US, and we will pay every freakin bill

fifth: see number two.

[madeline_con]

30. "...say we fucked up..."

How about "HE" fucked up? Talk honestly about the lies told to go to war, stolen elections, the power structure, stifling of freedoms with the PATRIOT act and intimidation, etc.

Put the blame where it lies.

[okieinpain]

33. well you know that's the fucked thing about what he's done. we'll

all catch the blame for it. stolen election or not, iraq has the american stamp of approval.

[Trevelyan]

23. There IS a BIPARTISAN effort underway!!

H.J.RES.55~~HOMEWARD BOUND RESOLUTION BIPARTISAN

http://www.house.gov/abercrombie/Iraq%20War%20Res.pdf

~~~5 pages~~How to End the War: Negotiations Now!

A breakthrough for peace is now possible
by Justin Raimondo

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=6506

In an excellent piece in the UK's premier conservative magazine, the Spectator, Michael Wolff, a Vanity Fair columnist who covered the invasion from Centcom headquarters, sums up the present moment in Iraq quite well:

"All in all, after more than two years of combat and any number of cycles of triumphalism followed by dismal comeuppance, you'd have to be a cockeyed nitwit not to realize that the Iraq war might not end happily. People are now talking of a new Tet moment. During the 1968 Tet offensive in Vietnam, the Vietcong, who were said to be demoralized and on the run, were suddenly storming the doors of the American embassy (and on television). In Iraq the insurgents, with their supposedly poor leadership and declining support, are
suddenly upping their kill rate, with attacks of terrible ferocity and obvious strategic smarts."

More Vietnam deja vu: the U.S. public is moving rapidly toward its own Tet moment, regardless of whether the insurgents pull off a major offensive on the ground in Iraq. Polls show 60 percent want us to start withdrawing troops, and, even more significantly – and ominously for the Party of Bush – the majority now believe the administration deliberately misled the American people in order to goad us into supporting the invasion of Iraq.

People don't like being lied to, and they don't like liars: if the GOP is going to avoid being punished at the polls, they're going to have to come up with some kind of viable exit plan before the situation goes into total meltdown.

In the wake of Bush's "stay the course" speech, however, things look grim all 'round: the president isn't budging – he isn't even acknowledging the dire straits he's in. Congressional Republicans, however, have no choice but to face reality, at least in this particular instance: after all, another election is coming up, and they sense their vulnerability. Which is perhaps why Republicans are beginning to speak out against the war. A bipartisan "Homeward Bound" resolution <.pdf file> co-sponsored by conservative Rep. Walter "French Fries" Jones and libertarian Republican Ron Paul, as
well as two liberal Democrats, targets Oct. 1, 2006, as the day we begin to bring the troops home.

MORE ON ABOVE SITE

[Trevelyan]

24. WHY ISN'T THERE AN AVATAR FOR SEN. TED KENNEDY?

If there ever was a Peacemaker it is Teddy Kennedy!!

Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called the Children of God.

Going back decades, I remember Ted Kennedy's vocal support for the poor and middle class IN ACTION esp. with Medicare and the Act of Congress - MENTAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS ACT he worked on for four long years with Roslyn Carter who had been in charge of the reforms to Georgia's Mental Health System.

Among many other good works.

Please have an avatar for Teddy! (If you do have one - I apologize in advance if I missed it.) :D

[madeline_con]

31. Good.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. Withdraw right away, admit defeat now. It's going to happen sooner or

later, so why not sooner? They could piss another trillion dollars down that hole and it won't change the current state of affairs. There will be no peace in Iraq until the US gets the fuck out.

[DemInDistress]

3. Quietly

pull out 50/75,000 of our troops.I cant see a United Iraq far too much bad blood between those religious zealots.
My plan,give the North to the Kurds,give the South to the Shia"s and allow the Sunni's Central Iraq.Then both the North and South Iraq will donate/contribute 40% of oil monies to Bagdad.Each Portion if Iraq will have to leaders and twice a year all Parties should meet and map out strategy's for moving Iraq forard..I f anyone can add to my plan please do...

[seabeyond]

5. then you have a problem with turkey

no uncertain terms does turkey want the kurds to be independent right along their border where they have their own issues with their kurds right along there

they wont be happy campers

they have threatened to go in and take over that area if that is what happens

[LynnTheDem]

21. Why not let the IRAQIS decide for themselves?

WOW what a radical thought.

[Trevelyan]

4. One of Sen. Kennedy's Sites Had A Petition to Start Withdrawing the Troops

Honorably. Don't remember if it was on DemocraticMajority.com or:

I just joined Senator Kennedy in telling Senator Frist to stop his power grab of our judiciary.

http://www.tedkennedy.com/page/petition/stopitnow/fdaudn

I got an email letter to all who are signed up on Sen. Kennedy's sites from one of his staffers stating that the Republicans are really targeting Kennedy and his Senate seat. I had already sent a small contribution.

Considering all Sen. Kennedy has done for poor and middle class Americans, it is the least we can do. Although Roslyn Carter was miffed with Kennedy for running against Carter and some of the things he said, Roslyn is an honest woman and wrote in FIRST LADY FROM PLAINS that she worked with Sen. Kennedy for 4 years on THE MENTAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS ACT and they both got it passed and funded so that Reagan couldn't take the funding for a year which he and Bush, Sr. did but Kennedy also worked his heart out on this legislation.

One of the reason he ran against Carter was that Kennedy was very, very afraid of another Vietnam with the Iran hostage situation spinning out of control and mentioned again and again that he did not want American boys coming home in black bags again. What a shame that Bushco's double dealing made the hostages have to stay in the horrible situation they were in while bush, sr. did everything he could to bribe the Iranians into keeping the hostages til the minute Reagan was inaugurated.

And Bush, Sr. got away with the Iran-Contra scandal and pardoning the convicted criminals who aided him along with so much else the Bush Crime Family has done to spread misery among millions of citizens of the world.

Sen. Kennedy has helped millions of US and world citizens by his very hard, selfless work and we must support real Democrats for our children's future.:patriot: :dem:

[tocqueville]

6. it's too late

the civil war has started...

it can be used as an excuse to withdraw. The Big winners are the Iranians and Al Quaeda.

[The Crazy Canadian]

7. If the US withdrawals and Iraq falls into civil war, it could spread

regionally involving Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia. There could be disturbances in oil production sending oil prices to the roof and sending the world into a global recession. That's the scenario that Juan Cole predicts if we just pull out the troop. On the other hand, he can't see the internationalizing of the Iraq war with the UN because Bush Administration won't allow it and no country would be interested in sending in their troop. Essentially there is no good solution on how to get out of Iraq without causing a greater mess than it already is.

[Strelnikov_]

13. Global Depression, Beginning Of The 'Road Warrior' Is More Like It

The Gulf represents 2/3 of remaining reserves worldwide. If these go offline suddenly, it's game over.

The GOP has really screwed us this time.

[The Crazy Canadian]

15. More like the neocons really screwed us.

[LynnTheDem]

8. Airplanes.

[laura888]

28. LOL! Excellent! n/t

[FloridaPat]

9. Send in lots of empty ships. Fill ships with soldiers. Turn ships around

and leave. Real simple. Repeat until no more soldiers.

First though, pull out Haliburton and Cooper-Brown and all the other repub defense contractors. Then the ships and somewhere in between all this impeach the president and everyone in his administration.

[dweller]

14. the other way around

first the troops, then the Repug mercenari...errr.. i mean defense contractors. Let them fight on their own for awhile, they are getting the big bucks anyway. LET THEM EARN IT.

but first, bring our troops home.

BugOut, i believe it's called.
dp

[FloridaPat]

22. I can live with that! Yes, actually earn the money. What a nice thought.

[Trevelyan]

10. Go to Sen. Kennedy's Site for Some Ideas

I believe Rep. Waxman also has good ideas and is keeping track of the Torture scandals on his site with formal letters of response. I believe it is Lynn Woolsey who has introduced a bill on how to begin withdrawing our troops honorably.

Please note their is a bill by NeoCons already submitted to repeal the 22nd Amendment that states that no president shall serve more than two terms. With Diebold counting bush could be emperor for life, please write to your Congressperson and object.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last night, President Bush addressed the nation about the war, but he refused to level with our troops and the American people and offer a strategy for success in Iraq.

Our soldiers in Iraq need more than vague assurances of progress from the President.

They need an effective plan to end the violence, bring peace and stability to Iraq, and return home with dignity and honor.

Unfortunately, the administration's view of the war is ignoring reality. As an example, the Downing Street Minutes, and statements by former Administration and British officials on the issue have raised new doubts about the way the Administration went to war in Iraq. But the truth should come from the White House, not Downing Street.

The Administration will not face the facts or develop an effective strategy. Secretary Rumsfeld and Vice-President Cheney can't even agree on the strength of the insurgency and the time and resources needed to defeat it.

Last Thursday, I called on Secretary Rumsfeld to resign as the first step in a new strategy--and now I ask you to join me in calling on this Administration to level with the American people and develop a plan for success in Iraq:

http://www.tedkennedy.com/iraqstrategy

Our current strategy isn't working. Only when President Bush, Secretary Rumsfeld, and the rest of the Administration begin to address the realities of what is happening on the ground can we hope to make progress in the region.

Like many of you, I have spoken out against this war and the Administration's lack of an effective strategy. But, together, our voices are much stronger. Many of you successfully helped to make the Downing Street Minutes part of the national debate. By demanding
more of this Administration, we can make an impact.

Our soldiers need more than a public relations campaign from the Administration to win this war. They need honesty and leadership:

http://www.tedkennedy.com/iraqstrategy

To succeed in Iraq--and the war on terrorism--we have to restore trust in our nation's leadership. No matter where you stand on the war - we can all agree that we must not repeat the kind of mistakes that led us into this misguided war.

The truth about Iraq does not belong to any political party--it belongs to all of the American people, and they are entitled to hear it.

Please join me in calling on the President to lay out an effective strategy in Iraq. It is not enough to keep hoping that the Administration will finally wake up to the realities on the ground in Iraq. We must make sure that they do:

http://www.tedkennedy.com/iraqstrategy

My campaign staff and volunteers like you will deliver our petition to the White House next week, demonstrating that Americans demand greater accountability and a better plan for success in Iraq.

In the coming weeks, we will build on this initiative to hold the Administration accountable, and we will continue to work together for full and honest answers from the White House. As many people as possible must be involved so that we are heard loud and
clear.

Thank you for joining in this all-important initiative.

Sincerely,

Senator Edward M. Kennedy


PS - Thank you for joining me - please make sure to take a moment and take a stand:

http://www.tedkennedy.com/iraqstrategy

[Lexingtonian]

11. pull back

Abandon Baghdad and most of Iraq, let them have the civil war they seem unable to do without. Let that foolish, criminal, 'Governing Council' disintegrate or get lined up against a wall and shot- the GC principals licensed death squads, they do have blood on their hands.

American troops do have a moral obligation to set up 'safe haven' areas a la Bosnia in the north and south and protect civilian and noncombatant refugees there. The logical areas happen to coincide with the oil fields deep in Shia territory and Kirkuk and oil infrastructure. Not that I love leaving those in Bush appointee hands, but that way Iraq has oil industry left to fund a rebuilding with when the civil war is over.

American troops could sink to something like 50,000 and actually defend a perimeter. When the civil warlet is over- the Sunnis should lose to the Shia- the country should be reoccupied briefly under a proper UN force with very few Americans. And then there will be meaningful elections, a constitution the powers and peoples of the land will actually obey, and a functional government.

I'm not sure that answers your question per se, but it's what I consider the political and military solution that the situation demands.

[confludemocrat]

16. Well, since it was an illegal, criminal invasion, whaddya think answer is?

Its get the fuck out, and agree to pay reparations. We still owe Vietnam alot of money, we wrecked their country. They pulled themselves up to some level above what we left them with, now we should make good on our mess there. Same for Iraq. We owe 'em.

Don't like the premise of the question. Sick of the presumptuousness of it. For the first time in human history we can admit to a crime and end it. If you are a rapist and are in the middle of the act and the posse is holding a gun to your head, you must withdraw and not wait "for ideas" about how to do it better.

[Djinn]

19. exactly

and rape is a perfect analogy. this "war" has ALWAYS been about the rape of Iraqi resources and the US will not be going ANYWHERE until it is complete and locked in, unless it gets politically untenable.

THAT'S the only plan to remove US troops from Iraq that will work - make it politically untenable for them to stay - that's the aim of the resistance.

Iraq has never been particularly homogenous, if a civil war is going to happen it'll happen whether the US leaves now or in 10 years time -that's often the case when oppresive rulers are overthrown, that's why we supported Hussein for so long - he kept the nation together and we didn't care how.

The questions about how to pullout always seem to buy into the propaganda that this war had anything to do with the liberation of Iraq - according to the ACTUAL goals of the war, it's been fairly successful.

On the Kurdish thing - agree with the earlier poster who mentions that an independant Kurdistan is not going to happen anytime soon

[Trevelyan]

17. Go to BillyJack.com - very good site also support

Rep. Lynn Woolsey's bill to begin working out a strategy to leave, I think if impartial experts helped come up with a plan instead of Bilderbergers, their would be some workable ideas.

Support the Democrats who support Woolsey.
*************

http://www.woolsey.house.gov/newsarticle.asp?RecordID=4

01
Text of H.Con.Res. 35
HCON 35 IH
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 35

Expressing the sense of Congress that the President should develop and implement a plan to begin the immediate withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Iraq.

Whereas on January 12, 2005, the President officially declared an end to the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq;

Whereas more than 1,350 members of the United States Armed Forces have been killed as part of the ongoing combat operations in Iraq;

Whereas the Department of Defense has estimated that at least 10,300 members of the Armed Forces have been wounded as part of the ongoing combat operations in Iraq;

Whereas various estimates place the number of unarmed, innocent Iraqi civilians killed as part of the ongoing combat operations in Iraq between 15,000 to 17,000 individuals, and possibly much higher;

Whereas more than $230,000,000,000 has been appropriated by Congress to finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, nearly $160,000,000,000 of which has been allocated for military operations and reconstruction efforts in Iraq;

Whereas in 2005 the President is expected to request Congress to appropriate as much as $80,000,000,000 in additional funds for military operations and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and elsewhere;

Whereas the President's former Chief Economic Adviser, Lawrence Lindsey, was publicly criticized by high-ranking members of the Administration for suggesting that the war in Iraq might cost as much as $100,000,000,000 to $200,000,000,000;

Whereas the legitimacy of the January 30, 2005, elections in Iraq has been severely undermined by daily attacks by Iraqi insurgents, by the decision to hold such an election before the country is safe enough to ensure widespread participation, and by the fact that an occupying military force is present within the country;

Whereas dozens of Iraqi election workers have been killed, and hundreds more have quit their posts out of fear of being killed;

~~~{Were the Iraqi police and militia on our side given guns to protect themselves and others?}~~~~~~~~

Whereas Iraqi insurgent forces remain capable of killing United States troops and Iraqi police and soldiers throughout Iraq almost daily; Whereas the very presence of 150,000 Americans in Iraq has become a rallying point for dissatisfied people in the Arab world, and has both intensified the rage of the extremist Muslim terrorists and also ignited civil hostilities in Iraq that have made United States troops and Iraqi civilians substantially less safe;

Whereas the removal of the United States military from Iraq will help diminish one of the major causes of Iraq's growing insurgency;

Whereas the best way to truly support members of the United States Armed Forces stationed in Iraq is to remove them from harm's way; and

Whereas the time has come to begin a withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Iraq before the United States becomes further embroiled in an unnecessary and dangerous international conflict: Now, therefore be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that the President should--

(1) develop and implement a plan to begin the immediate withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Iraq;

(2) develop and implement a plan for reconstructing Iraq's civil and economic infrastructure;

(3) convene an emergency meeting of Iraq's leadership, Iraq's neighbors, the United Nations, and the Arab League to create an international peacekeeping force in Iraq and to replace United States Armed Forces in Iraq with Iraqi police and Iraqi National Guard
forces to ensure Iraq's security; and

(4) take all steps necessary to provide the Iraqi people with the opportunity to completely control their internal affairs.

[BrotherBuzz]

18. All they got to do is schedule a date!

Simple. Oh, I forgot, this administration doesn't do schedules.

[Selatius]

25. Pull out the troops and leave a note on the door with some advice

The advice would pretty much suggest a form of government very much similar to the Swiss Confederation. It's up to Iraqis whether to listen or ignore it.

[Quixote1818]

26. Bitch slap the new leader until he tells us to leave.

HEY! He told us to leave! What do you want us to do? It's a free country! :shrug:

[Doc Bottom]

29. Nader's plan

I used to read a Muslim forum.

At one point, a contributor from Saudi Arabia proposed a withdrawl plan that the Muslim readership of that forum generally agreed was workable.

It was identical to Ralph Nader's plan.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

32. Helicopters at the embassy worked in the last quagmire.