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The Democrats were right. Senators Kerry and Feingold were right. “Stay the course” was not only wrong, but the Iraqi government wants us out.
I can't wait to hear Republicans say the Iraqi government is for “cut
and run.”
THE OFFER
A schedule for coalition forces to withdraw
General amnesty for prisoners “who have not shed innocent Iraqis’
blood”A halt to “anti-terrorist operations” by coalition forces in
insurgent areasA review of the process of de-Baathification and of financial compensation
to sacked civil servants from the Saddam regime
Here's more from the Times of London:
THE Iraqi Government will announce a sweeping peace plan as early as Sunday
in a last-ditch effort to end the Sunni insurgency that has taken the country
to the brink of civil war.The 28-point package for national reconciliation will offer Iraqi resistance
groups inclusion in the political process and an amnesty for their prisoners
if they renounce violence and lay down their arms, The Times can reveal.The Government will promise a finite, UN-approved timeline for the withdrawal
of all foreign troops from Iraq; a halt to US operations against insurgent
strongholds; an end to human rights violations, including those by coalition
troops; and compensation for victims of attacks by terrorists or Iraqi and
coalition forces.(snip)
But one big potential obstacle is whether the US would be willing to grant
an amnesty to insurgents who have killed US soldiers but who are not members
of extreme groups such as al-Qaeda. The Bush Administration is thought to
be split on the issue.“This is very hard for us, particularly at a time when American servicemen
are facing prosecution for alleged war crimes — and others are being
captured and tortured,” a senior US official said.With 2,500 US soldiers having died in Iraq, to grant an amnesty would be
a “huge political football” before the November mid-term elections
in the US, he said. But he added: “This is what we did after the Second
World War, after the Civil War, after the War of Independence. It may be unpalatable
and unsavoury but it is how wars end.”(snip)
The draft marks the first time the Iraqi Government has endorsed a fixed
timeline for the withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq, a key demand of
the Sunni insurgency.We must agree on a timed schedule to pull out the troops from Iraq, while
at the same time building up the Iraqi forces that will guarantee Iraqi security
and this must be supported by a United Nations Security Council decision,”
the document reads. …
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