Thomas Friedman Echoes Kerry Plan: Time for Plan B for Iraq

[kerrygoddess]

Thomas Friedman Echoes Kerry Plan: Time for Plan B for Iraq
August 5th, 2006 @ 12:22 am

Iraq… Senator Chuck Hagel has said that the U.S. “needs to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within the next six months.” He’s sounding a lot like John Kerry these days…

Iraqis are “going to have to step up” and assume responsibility for defense of their country, Hagel told a telephone news conference from Washington.

In an editorial in Friday’s NY Times, Thomas Friedman calls on the Bush administration for Plan B in Iraq, stating that “the Bush team never gave us a Plan A for Iraq.” The plan that Friedman suggests in his column is a plan that accepts important parts of John Kerry’s Iraq plan, including the Dayton Accords like summit and getting our troops home. Yesterday on the Senate floor, Kerry renewed the call for a Dayton Accords like summit. I simply can’t say it enough here… John Kerry was right. Here’s Friedman’s column (from behind the wall)..

Time for Plan B
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: August 4, 2006

It is now obvious that we are not midwifing democracy in Iraq. We are baby-sitting a civil war.

When our top commander in Iraq, Gen. John Abizaid, tells a Senate Committee, as he did yesterday, that “the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I’ve seen it,” it means that three years of efforts to democratize Iraq are not working. That means “staying the course” is pointless, and it’s time to start thinking about Plan B — how we might disengage with the least damage possible.

MORE & LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=3800

[rodeodance]

1. slow but sure folks.

[Benhurst]

5. Friedman: a mustache in search of a brain.

[Mist]

13. Thanks, Benhurst, for the best description of Friedman EVER. nt

[Benhurst]

16. ...

:hi: to a fellow resident of the Tar Heel State.

[elehhhhna]

2. How can there be a plan B when there was never a Plan A ?

[blm]

3. So Friedman's "give it 6 more months" finally wore down after 3 years?

Gee, thanks Tom.

You could have HAD your REAL 6months turnaround by now if you had backed Kerry and Murtha last fall through spring instead of attacking them for noticing that Iraq was slipping into civil war and we needed an exit strategy.

[Totally Committed]

4. I agree.

Friedman should be ashamed of his support for this war. I can't believe he's finally going to the light.

TC

[Tom Rinaldo]

6. Not exactly. Here is what Friedman wrote, quoting from the link provided

"Since the Bush team never gave us a Plan A for Iraq, it at least owes us a Plan B. It’s not easy. Here are my first thoughts about a Plan B and some of the implications.

I think we need to try a last-ditch Bosnia-like peace conference that would bring together all of Iraq’s factions and neighbors. Just as Bosnia could be solved only by an international peace force and the Dayton conference — involving Russia, Europe and the U.S., the powers most affected by Bosnia’s implosion — the civil war in Iraq can be quelled only by a coalition of those most affected by Iraq’s implosion: the U.S., Russia, Europe, Japan, India, China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Syria and Jordan. As in Bosnia, any solution will have to be some form of federalism, a division of oil wealth and policing by an international force, where needed.

For such a conference to come about, though, the U.S. would probably need to declare its intention to leave. Iraqis, other Arabs, Europeans and Chinese will get serious about helping to salvage Iraq only if they believe we are leaving and it will damage their interests.

What would be the consequences of leaving without such a last-ditch peace effort, or if it just fails? Iraq could erupt into a much wider civil war, drawing in its neighbors. Or, Iraqis might stare into this abyss and actually come to terms with each other on their own. Our presence may be part of the problem. It’s hard to know."

By the way it wouldn't be fair in my mind to give Kerry sole credit for advocating for a Dayton Accords like international Peace effort for Iraq. Kerry does deserve credit for advocating it, and I know he doesn't claim sole credit, but Wes Clark was actually involved in making the Dayton Accords a reality at the time, and has been honored for so doing. Clark has always pointed to that as a model for how bringing Peace to Iraq should have been handled, and still should be attempted.

[blm]

7. I'm referencing the many columns written by Friedman over the last 3 years

that would attack proposals by Democrats claiming they needed to give Bush's strategy another 6months. And he did it against Kerry and Murtha's submitted proposals.

Surely you've noticed how many times Friedman has inked his "give it 6months" line.

Your "BTW" doesn't relate to my post in any way. Did you mean it for another post?

[Tom Rinaldo]

8. You are right about that of course, I misunderstood your point

I thought you were suggesting that Friedman was echoing Kerry's origninal call for starting withdrawal in 6 months. It must have been the title of this thread that led me astray in that way, since Friedman is not actually echoing Kerry's plan, just agreeing with some of Kerry's main points.

And you are right, my "by the way" wasn't addressed to your specific post, but I didn't plan on writing multiple posts to this thread, so I added it to the one post I intended to make (I am about to run out the door, I'm late!). Since I tried to keep the tone of that observation positive, I didn't think it was a problem adding it to the same post. I'm sorry if that caused any confusion for anyone.

[blm]

10. Every now and then my awkward writing prevents clarity.

;)

[orwell]

11. In other words...

"...the civil war in Iraq can be quelled only by a coalition of those most affected by Iraq’s implosion: the U.S., Russia, Europe, Japan, India, China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Syria and Jordan."

We can solve the many decades of international meddling, both military and political, by convening a council to politically and militarily intervene. You notice how there is no mention of Iraq on this list.

They will never learn...

[krkaufman]

19. Those three paragraphs by Friedman *do* represent the last hope ...

... for avoiding full-scale civil war in Iraq. Sadly, the Bush Admin will never submit themselves to such an "internationalist" approach. (Unless, perhaps, a Democratic Senate and House force them into it.)

[Bjorn Against]

9. When his plan A was so bad, why should we trust his Plan B?

Sure Plan B looks better, but Tom Friedman has been wrong way too many times and there is no reason we should listen to him again.

God, I wish the media would stop giving this guy so much credibility.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

12. I'll listen to ANYBODY talking about ending the atrocities. k&r n/t

[alvarezadams]

14. What?

No golden arches?

[wisteria]

15. Good piece, but you would think that what he says almost echoes Kerry

he would have given him a least some credit by mentioning his name. Friedman writes this like these are his ideas.He thought enough of Hagel's words to mention him, whats up with using Kerry ideas and not even giving him some credit?

[blm]

17. Seems like alot of that is going on - corpmedia purposely acts as if Kerry

doesn't exist.

I think it's been going on for decades because he has proven time after time that the real story on so many issues over the years has been way more serious than the media has ever acknowledged. The media resents him for uncovering aspects of government corruption they had been helping to cover up.

[krkaufman]

20. Reminds me of both Brokaw and Friedman doing global warming ...

... specials on the coattails of Al Gore's film. (Though, I expect, Al doesn't mind; whatever it takes to get the message out.)

[jrd200x]

18. Friedman always just restates the obvious

he's a master at it. boring.