A Roadmap Out of Iraq: Six Signposts to Iraqi Sovereignty, Security

[goodhue]

www.RoadmapOutofIraq.org

A Roadmap Out of Iraq: Six Signposts to Iraqi Sovereignty, Security

A Principled And Responsible Withdrawal From Iraq

Despite the ceremonial transfer of power in Iraq that took place two days ahead of schedule, the US occupation of Iraq is not over.
- US troops and bases remain in Iraq under Administration and Pentagon, not Iraqi or UN, authority.
- The Administration continues to control Iraqi reconstruction funds.

The presence of US troops in Iraq is incitement to insurgency, and most Iraqis believe that the violence will depart with US troops. Since security in Iraq starts with sovereignty, not vice versa, we can expect the violence in Iraq to increase.

According to the most recent polls of the Washington Post and MSNBC, Americans are already solidly behind full, Iraqi economic and political sovereignty, and that 70% of the public believes that the invasion and occupation of Iraq is unjustified. We are divided only on the conditions under which US troops are brought home, and how soon.

We can clear the path to bring US troops home this year if we can provide an alternative exit strategy that holds fast to our core principles, meets the American people in their concerns and values, and accounts for the political and logistical realities of getting US troops out of Iraq, and UN peacekeepers - especially from Arab and/ or Muslim nations - in.

We can create enough political will in the public, in our political officials, and in at least one of the Presidential Campaigns to shift the course of US policy, and put American troops and corporations on the road out of Iraq.

In so doing, we can not only help to decide the President for the next four years, but his policies, by advancing our principles and Peace Platform policy goals through the vehicle of the road map out of Iraq.

It will take all the passion, commitment, compassion and hope that each one of us can muster to make this happen. But, given the current rule of war, terror and repression, let’s take this chance together!

Six Signposts to Iraqi Sovereignty and Ending the Occupation

Secure a UN Security Council Resolutions that:

1. Places all foreign troops in Iraq immediately under UN mandate and defines their mission as a peacekeeping force. (International Cooperation)

2. Provides for the rotation of foreign troop commitments to the peacekeeping force in order to replace US troops by a specified date (end of 2004); (International Cooperation)

3. Provides for the UN oversight of free elections, and grants the elected government of Iraq full power to order the departure of UN peacekeepers and foreign bases from their lands. (Human Rights and Rule of Law)

4. Places reconstruction budgets under the sole control of Iraqi ministries and local councils, and ensures that contracts go to Iraqi companies and workers first. (Economic Justice)

5. Establishes the power of the elected government of Iraq to renegotiate and dissolve any contracts brokered by the occupying power or its appointees, the interim councils. (Economic Justice)

6. Commits the US, UK and its “coalition of the willing” to provide long-term, financial support from their own budgets for Iraqi reconstruction. (International Cooperation and Rule of Law)

[salib]

1. Of course

Now, how does one help the US population (at least enough of them) to say the same thing: "of course"?

[goodhue]

2. PLAN THE PEACE! Rally

PLAN THE PEACE! Rally

PLAN THE PEACE!
Minnesotans Rally for a Road Map Out of Iraq

Sunday, September 26th, 3:30 pm
Halversten Chapel, Augsburg College


SPEAKERS:

US Rep. Jim Oberstar

US Rep. Betty McCollum

MN State Rep. Keith Ellison

Mpls. Mayor R. T. Rybak

Don and Julie Larson
Parents of two sons both deployed to the Middle East

Haider Al-Amery
Iraqi refugee and veteran of 1991 Shia uprising against Saddam Hussein

Phil Steger
Executive Director, Friends for a Non-Violent World

Already...
More than 1000 Americans killed.
10s of 1000s of Iraqis killed
More than $200 billion spent
And climbing...



Meanwhile...



The violence increases,
The chaos grows,
The hatred and anger spreads,
Iraq plummets toward civil war,
and America sinks deeper into debt, joblessness and distrust.



It is possible to bring US troops home
ensure that Iraqi home-rule, and
redeem this costly mistake..



We need the right plan.

We need the right leaders.

We need a Road Map Out of Iraq.



Join your neighbors and Minnesota’s

elected representatives in a rally for the Road Map out of Iraq.



Exercise your sovereignty as citizens, and demand that the President plan the peace NOW




If you…

… believe too many people have died in Iraq
… believe we’ve spent too much of our children’s future
… believe the current plans and policies in Iraq aren’t working
… believe that our national leaders haven’t really presented an alternative
… want US troops home safe and sound
… want Iraqis to be free, secure and self-ruling
… believe Iraqis should own their resources, labor, and futures, not the US...

…Then this rally is for you!

http://www.fnvw.org/geni-share/files/PNP_rally0826flyer01.pdf

[salib]

4. Wonderful!

Now I guess someone needs to bring the same to Texas. I guess that is me.

[goodhue]

5. indeed

The hope is to develop a national movement
and a Road map Out of Iraq bill in Congress ASAP.
Oberstar is apparently willing to author in House.
(And Dennis K is on board of course.)
The discussion cannot wait until Nov or Jan but must happen now.
Hopefully Senator Dayton will get on board. (I think he will).

[AntiFascist]

3. Wow...

one state has its activism together. What does the UN think of this plan?

[Eloriel]

6. Oh, I like it, I like it

Too bad it's so commonsensical, isn't it? Means it'll never happen. :-(

But it sure gets the job done in MY mind.

[liberalpragmatist]

7. Isn't this Quite Close to Kerry's Plan?

I think it's good, but I still think there need to be more specifics from both these guys and Kerry (although not before he becomes President). There are practical considerations - what if the Sadrists take over the country? What if no international troops are forthcoming.

Still, both plans are FAR better than anything Shrub has - he has to go, or else the place is fucked. At least with Kerry, we'll be out if it's clearly unwinnable.

[goodhue]

8. "Quite close" seems a little strong

This Road Map calls for US rotation out of Iraq by the end of this calendar year, whereas Kerry has said US out by end of 2008. But certainly one goal is to move Kerry closer to this road map out. Waiting until he becomes president is a mistake IMHO as I sincerely believe that this effort will help him to become president.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. Kerry's "plan" is closer to Bush's.

Neither would turn over control of US military forces to UN command.
Neither would move US troops out of Iraq quickly.

No doubt Kerry would be "not as bad" as Bush (which is why I'm holding my nose and voting for him) but neither offer a clearcut plan to actually return Iraq to the Iraqis.

[goodhue]

9. kick

[Jacobin]

11. Nice try

What makes anyone think UN peacekeepers would go to IraqNam? They only send peacekeepers after a war is over and there is clean up work to do. Koffi Annan has already said in the past few months that IraqNam is not a situation which is currently amenable to UN peacekeepers. I'll try to dig up the link. Iraq is an active war zone.

Please don't forget what the insurgents did to the UN headquarters in IraqNam late last year....they blew it to smithereens, leading to the evacuation of all UN personnel.

Westerners are perceived as infidels and part of the problem, not part of the solution. At this point, the Iraqis want all foreigners of whatever stripe out of their country. Apparently, they believe that enough damage has been done, thank you very much.

Smirky and the Neo-cons have created a truly horrific and intractable mess in IraqNam. Rumsfeld's "I don't Do Quagmires" statement notwithstanding, this is the perfect storm of a quagmire.

We did not "win" this war. The leadership of Iraq never surrendered and the people of Iraq were not told to surrender by their leaders as happened in Japan and Germany in WWII. We simply invaded, did not defeat their army, and are now fighting a viral insurgency which now controls 7 or 8 key cities.

Hell, at this point, we should "sue for peace" and try to get our lilly white asses out as best we can.

[goodhue]

12. Annan wants UN members to contribute to a UN protection force in Iraq ASAP

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_9-9-2004_pg1_5

* * *

While the United Nations “will make every effort to strengthen its support for the electoral process to avoid undue delays,” Annan emphasised that the Iraqis themselves are responsible for organising and conducting the elections. Annan reiterated his concern that the United Nations remained a primary target for attacks in Iraq. He urged member states to contribute troops to a UN protection force, which still has not a single pledge.

Annan said the UN role and presence in Iraq “cannot be separated from the risks to which we are exposed.” He said this was why a UN protection force was essential and should be deployed immediately. UN peacekeeping operations across the globe are expanding in number and scope, pushing the capacity of the United Nations close to the breaking point, Annan said. “The heightened demand will stretch, to the limit and beyond, the capacity of the United Nations to respond,” he said.

* * *

[goodhue]

13. More on the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) needs . . .

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=11880&Cr=iraq&Cr1=

* * *

The UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) needs four personal security details, each comprising 12 officers, to protect the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, other designated UNAMI officials and visitors as they travel around the country.

Three armed guard units, each consisting of 160 people, are required to protect UNAMI facilities, while forces are also needed to help UN staff working outside the so-called "international zone" in Baghdad.

* * *

[goodhue]

14. UN wants 48 security officers and 480 armed guards in Iraq ASAP

Why would this not be forthcoming?
Does the US support this request?
If not, why?
What is Kerry's position on UN forces in Iraq?

Obviously the UN protection force in Iraq is a threshold issue before a peacekeeping mandate can be secured. But the suggestion that UN does not want to go into Iraq is simply wrong.

[Jacobin]

16. What he's saying is that they need 480 troops just to

protect a proposed office building in Iraq for the UN.

That hardly appears to be the same thing as a peacekeeping force for Iraq. Am I missing something here?

[goodhue]

17. you are correct

Annan is currently begging for a protection force.
Yet not one single person has been pledged to date.
A peacekeeping force would ostensibly require a UN resolution such as that proposed under the Road map Out of Iraq.

Some suggest that the UN has no interest in going into Iraq because of the security situation. But indeed the UN wants to go in and is asking for a protection force. Annan says a UN protection force in Iraq is essential and should be deployed immediately. Annan is not likely to lobby for peacekeeping if minimal protection force has not been established.

While protection force and peacekeeping force may be two different things, note that Annan himself articulates a connection when he talks about UN capacity being pushed to the breaking point.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_9-9-2004_pg1_5

The real issue is why no country in particular those in the coalition of the willing is willing to give Annan the troops he seeks for Iraq.

[no name no slogan]

15. US is the biggest roadblock now

The reason why the UN hasn't come into Iraq is that the US refuses to relinquish control on the ground to anyone. Neither Shrub nor Kerry is willing to address this fact.

The biggest problem in Iraq is the US troops are serving there under the Pentagon, NOT under the UN or NATO or any other international organization. BushCo wants to retain complete control of the country, yet still wants international troops to come in a relieve US occupiers.

The UN will NOT come in while the US retains complete military control of the country, and understandably so. The US needs to cede control of the country to an international body who will take charge of not just the security situation, but also the rebuilding, too-- something that BushCo and its patrons (Halliburton & Bechtel) are loathe to do.

This plan is the sanest and most practical plan we have today. It's the easiest way to "internationalize" the peace effort, and to make sure that the country isn't at the whim of the war profitteers.

Thanks for posting this Goodhue, and I'll be sure to be at the event, too!

:hi:

[goodhue]

18. Indeed

The US is currently the main road block to establishing peace in Iraq.

Some no doubt will claim that UN peacekeepers will be subject to the same resistance as US troops.
However, it is important to note that Iraqi insurgent leaders themselves have called for UN peacekeepers.

Sadr has backed UN peacekeepers in Iraq since April, a position also supported by Sistani.

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Iraq/0,6119,2-10-1460_1514443,00.html

Sadr backs UN peacekeepers
19/04/2004 13:29 - (SA)

Najaf, Iraq - Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr has reversed his opposition to the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Iraq as long as certain conditions are met, a close aide said on Monday.

"We favour the despatch of such a force on condition that it be made up of Muslim countries or countries which did not join the occupation of Iraq, such as Russia, France or Germany," Qais al-Khazaali, spokesperson for Sadr's banned Mehdi Army militia said.

He also said the UN force must entrust law and order duties to Iraqi security forces.

Sadr, who is wanted in connection with the murder of a rival pro-US cleric, had previously rejected any role for the UN in Iraq, arguing that the world body was taking its orders from the US-led occupation forces.

In an interview with Bulgarian television broadcast on Sunday, Khazaali demanded UN troops replace the US-led coalition forces.

He said it was "in the interest of the whole world to send peacekeeping forces under the UN flag" to Iraq.

[no name no slogan]

19. This is too good for page 2

especially the links goodhue has posted to the UN and Iraqi positions on this issue.

it deserves a :kick:

[goodhue]

20. thanks

Alas, it does not stay on page 1 for very long.

As you well know NNNS, the Peace in the Precincts (www.peaceintheprecincts.org) folks really have their act together with this Roadmap Out Of Iraq Campaign (www.RoadmapOutofIraq.org).

Lawn signs are going up across Minnesota, that look like this one . . .

[goodhue]

21. now it is on page 3

but not for long
back to page 1
but for how long

[goodhue]

22. kick for tuesday

[goodhue]

23. kick for wednesday

[goodhue]

24. kick for thursday

[goodhue]

25. again for the pm

[goodhue]

26. kick for friday

[goodhue]

28. again for the pm

[goodhue]

27. U.S. asks world for help . . .

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0409170204sep17,1,933330.story?coll=chi-news-hed

* * *

The diplomacy, which has U.S. officials traveling worldwide to make their pitch face-to-face with foreign counterparts, follows months of failed efforts to get even a single nation to participate in the creation of a UN protection force authorized by the Security Council.

"We all know that push is definitely coming to shove on this, sooner rather than later," said one State Department official, who along with other officials discussed details of the effort only on condition of anonymity.

* * *

The UN needs to deploy scores of officials to Iraq by early November if it is to play the vital role long envisioned for organizing and coordinating the January elections, officials have said. But because of the soaring violence, Annan so far has refused to allow more than 35 of his personnel into the country at a time.

* * *

Another State Department official who spoke about the most recent diplomatic flurry said Thursday that the creation of a UN protection force is needed "as soon as possible," adding that it "will be essential if the UN is to play its vital role in the Iraqi elections in January."