Iraq, which way from here?
There is no perfect solution to the war in Iraq. There are, however, solutions which will minimize the loss of life - lives of brave American women and men, lives of innocent Iraqis. On May 1, 2003, the president declared victory. On May 1, 2006, American troops are still fighting and dying in Iraq. Victory is nowhere in sight.
The Iraqi people see Americans as occupiers and resent our presence. They have elected a government and asked American troops to leave. We should honor that request by returning Iraq to the Iraqis. The outcome of the Iraqi democratic election does not meet the wishes of the Republican President who had something different in mind. But Iraqis own the results. By intervening, we are denying the Iraqi people their right to self determination.
We can help by forming a coalition of willing nations to develop a multi-national peace corps to work with and at the direction of the Iraqi government to rebuild their country. We must remove the American military presence which is the target of violence.
Democracy does not come easily. Iraqis will develop their own interpretation of democracy - it will not be like ours. Let's remember that, in the United States, we have had a civil war, which did not destroy our nation. We have been struggling for more than 200 years to develop "a more perfect Union". We cannot demand that in Iraq, the process must occur in the blink of an eye.
1 May 2006