"IDEAS
FOR DEMOCRATS, VII: BIPARTISANSHIP ON
IRAQ
Steven Jonas, MD, MPH
This
is a column that may be outdated by the time you read it. Events are
moving quickly in
Iraq
. On June 25 the Iraqi government announced a reconciliation initiative of
its own intended to end most of the violence, put Iraqis back in full charge of
their own country, and start the country down the road to true and full
reconstruction. As of June 26 the proposal was reported in only piecemeal
fashion in the
US
. One element that certain sources said was part of it was a call for the
full withdrawal of US troops by a date certain. (What traitors those Iraqis are.
Imagine, like certain Congressional Democrats calling for the departure of
foreign troops from their own country!) The early response from certain
Sunni groups was negative, although others had subscribed to the plan (The
Sunday Times [
London
], “Key insurgents vow to reject
Iraq
peace plan,” Ali Rifat and Hala Jaber,
Baghdad
). At any rate, with a plan on the table that looks much like what the
Democrats (called traitors in the Senate) were offering in one form or another
in the “debate” of the week of June 19, 2006, things, to say the least, may
be considered to be in a state of flux.
Now,
regardless of what position those Iraqi government traitors to US Iraq policy
may say (and those folks, placed in power by the Georgite occupation may be
considered traitors of the “US’s own” type) I agree with a variety of
Senators that the time has come for the country to pull together and put forward
a bipartisan policy towards Iraq, the war, and the American occupation. As
Sen. John Warner, Republican of Virginia, said during the that Senate
“debate” on the President’s Iraq policy (Zernike, K., The New York
Times, “Senators Begin Debate on Iraq,” June 22, 2006): “[T]he nation,
the world, the men and women of the armed forces would like to see the Senate
and the Congress stand behind them with strong bipartisanship.” Sen. Joseph
Lieberman, Republican, oops I mean Democrat, of
Connecticut
, added: “The war to remove Saddam Hussein may have been a war of choice, but
now it is a war of necessity. We must win it.” Sen. Hillary Clinton
(sort of) Democrat of New York weighed in with: “This is not a time for
partisanship” (http://www.hillaryclinton.com/speech/view/?id=953.).
I
have given this matter a good deal of consideration and I think that it is
indeed time for us Democrats to get bipartisan and get behind the President to
achieve the goals that he now states for the American occupation of Iraq. (One
must recall that the presently stated goals are rather different from those he
put forth in order to persuade the Congress and the American people to support
the invasion, but how can we quibble at this point?) At any rate, the presently
stated Georgite goals are to: “stay the course,” “fight them over there so
that we don’t have to fight them over here,” and “defeat Islamofascism
around the world.”
In
the spirit of bipartisanship and showing that we Democrats know what really will
be needed from our country in order to achieve these goals, I think that our
party should offer the following multi-part Congressional resolution. All of its
elements are designed to insure that the President’s goals will be fully
achieved, over time.
1.
The “Course” in “Stay the course” is to be defined: no anti-American or
internecine Iraqi violence of any kind for a period of six months.
2.
“Islamofascism” is defined, among other things, as a state in which there is
an official state-sanctioned religion, the leaders of which will ultimately be
in control of national policy; any personal behaviors and beliefs, religious or
otherwise, contrary to those of the state religion will be criminalized; any
opponents of the state religion are to be labeled as “godless” and
“traitors,” subject to appropriate penalties. (Any similarities to those
openly stated goals for
US
national policy, legislation, and Constitutional Amendments of the
President’s core supporters on the Religious Right is purely coincidental.)
3.
The achievement of the President’s stated goals obviously requires a long-term
(many years)
US
presence in
Iraq
. The financial support for the occupation needs to be stabilized and
absolutely secure. Thus to support it properly, the
US
needs to stop borrowing from major lenders like
China
(who could call in their chits on this one at any time). The nation must be
unified in support of the war effort. Sacrifices have to be made,
especially among those who are the President’s principal supporters.
Therefore, in the spirit of rallying behind the President there will be a “War
Tax.” Fortunately, there will be no necessity to raise taxes on everyone.
The needed revenues will become available simply and primarily by the rescission
of all the tax cuts for the wealthy that have been instituted since 2001, for
the duration of the war.
4.
Some people believe that the primary reasons the
US
invaded
Iraq
were, and are, oil and bases. Of course, even though a few thoughtful
Senators and Congressmen like Sen. Kerry and Rep. Murtha believe that there may
be something to that speculation, the Bush Administration has assured us that
nothing could be further from the truth. To make it entirely clear to one
and all that the US objectives in Iraq are not oil and bases, the US will
renounce any interest in Iraqi oil by any US-owned or affiliated oil companies
and will immediately turn any and all bases over to the Iraqi military as part
of the ongoing US commitment to strengthen it.
5.
Again in the spirit of unity and demonstrating the support for the war by all
sectors of the American economy and society, henceforth all work in support of
the occupation, either in Iraq or elsewhere, done by US corporations will be
carried out on a not-for-profit basis.
6.
To demonstrate full Congressional support for the war effort and for paying for
its ongoing costs on a cash basis, there will be no Congressional ”earmarks”
(otherwise known as “pork”) added to any legislation for the duration of the
US occupation.
7.
Further so as to show the full support of the war effort by those who made the
decision top invade and drew up the specific plans for the invasion (like, for
example, The Decider), shall publicly appeal to any and all of their off-spring
and close family of military serving age to join the armed forces and ask for
Iraq duty at the earliest possible convenience. The President’s
daughters, nieces, and nephews for some reason spring to mind as examples.
As a BuzzFlash petition of August 30, 2005 stated: “Sign the Petition
of Redress. Either the Bush Kids Put Their Lives on the Line for George's
‘Noble War’ or the Troops Come Home: I demand that George W. Bush's
daughters, and his eligible nieces and nephews, serve in
Iraq
to prove their support of Bush's 'noble war for a noble cause.' If the Bush
family does not believe in 'sacrificing' for the war and is not willing to put
their lives on the line, then Bush must bring the troops of middle class and
poor Americans home now (http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/05/08/edi05061.html)."
8.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the present all-volunteer armed forces
will not be able to support the achievement of the President’s goal of
“staying the course” on their own. Third and even fourth tours are
becoming common. A majority of US troops in
Iraq
believe that US forces should be withdrawn (I suppose that they are traitors
too). Thus in true spirit of bi-partisanship, it is proposed that a
Presidential Commission be formed with the charge of developing a plan for the
re-institution of the military draft.
And
now, let’s hear it for bipartisanship!
_____
Note:
This column is based in part on my column of June 23, 2006 entitled
“Democratic Ideas, V: Bipartisanship on
Iraq
” that appeared on BuzzFlash (http://www.buzzflash.com/jonas/06/06/jon06010.htm).
*
Please note that I most recently presented a detailed proposal for dealing with
the war issue itself on The
Political Junkies.net of 15 December, 2005, my Column No. 89 "AN IRAQ EXIT
PROPOSAL."
________________
Dr. Steven Jonas is a contributing author for The Political Junkies
(www.thepoliticaljunkies.net).
He is a
Professor of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University (NY) and
author/co-author of over twenty books. Dr. Jonas is one of
America
's most perceptive Democratic political analysts.
In his book The New Americanism, Dr. Jonas presents his proposal for that
“new vision and mission” for the Democratic Party that so many, for so many
years, have been urging it to find. A new vision and mission are obviously
needed with increasing urgency as with increasing speed and determination the
Georgites drive our nation towards frank theocratic fascism. Dr. Jonas
finds the needed vision and mission in the Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution. "The
New Americanism: How the Democratic Party Can Win the Presidency is available from Amazon.com (go to "Books;" enter the
title) and BarnesandNoble.com (same).
He is also the author of The 15% Solution: A Political
History of American Fascism, 2001-2022. Under the pseudonym
"Jonathan Westminster" this book was originally published in 1996.
It was republished with a New Introduction in 2004. Under Georgite rule,
the “fictional non-fiction” scenario of this work of “future history”
is, most unfortunately, becoming all too real, now almost day-by-day. The 2004 edition is available at www.barnesandnoble.com (search with the book title) and
www.xlibris.com (click on “Bookstore,” then
“Search” with the title). Both versions are available at www.amazon.com (go to "Books;" search with
the title).
Dr. Jonas is also a Contributing Editor
for the Weblog http://planetarymovement.org/blog/, produced by The Planetary
Movement Ltd. UK (http://planetarymovement.org/blog/), TPJ's own Michael
Carmichael, President and Chief Executive Officer, a Contributing
Columnist for the Project for the Old American Century, POAC (http://www.oldamericancentury.org/), on which
his TPJ columns appear regularly, and a Columnist for the webmagazine BuzzFlash
(http://www.buzzflash.com/) on which short(er)
articles are published once a week or so. By invitation, Dr. J's TPJ
columns are also posted periodically on the weblog Thomas Paine's Corner (http://civillibertarian.blogspot.com/).
2006
Jun 29, 2006 "Ideas
For Democrats, VI: Attack On Defense, II”
Jun 22, 2006 "Ideas
For Democrats, V: Attack On Defense"
Jun 15, 2006 "Ideas
For Democrats, IV: The Ten Commitments, Re-visited”
Jun 8, 2006 "Ideas
For Democrats, III: Dealing The DLC”
Jun 1, 2006 "Ideas
For Democrats, II: Why Don't The Democrats?”
May 25, 2006 "Ideas
For Democrats, I: The Vision”
May 18, 2006 "On
Conspiracy Theories"
May 11, 2006 "The
Significance Of The Tony Snow Job”*
May 3, 2006 "Bush
Is Not Hitler, II"
April 25, 2005 "Bush
Is Not Hitler, I”
April 20, 2006 "Some Thoughts On The 'Immigration Problem'"
April 13, 2006 “The Georgite State Of The Union Address Revited"
April 6, 2006 "A
Firebell In The Night: The So-Called 'Gay Marriage' Amendment, II"
April 2, 2006 "A Fireball In The Night:
The So-Called ‘Gay Marriage’ Amendment, I
Feb 22, 2006 “The
German Reichstag Fire of 1933 and 9/11: Some Comparisons. A Revisit,
Part II”
Feb 16, 2006 “The
German Reichstag Fire Of 1933 And 9/11: Some
Comparisons. A Revisit, Part1"
Feb 9, 2006 "A Comment On The Democratic Alchemy,’
Appearing In The American Prospect”
Feb 2, 2006 "Vengeance Is Mine, Saith The LORD"
Jan
26, 2006 "George
Bush And The Doctrine Of Original Intent"
Jan 19, 2006 "Let's Hear It For Original Intent (Version 2)"
Jan 12, 2006 "A Quick Visit To Mexico"
Jan 5, 2006 "Why
The Patriot Act, Redux: Fascism In The Here And Now, Cont."
Dec 22, 2005
"Why The Patriot Act, Redux: Fascism In The Here
And Now"
Dec 15, 2005 "An
Iraq Exit Proposal"
Dec 10, 2005 “Exiting
Iraq, The Georgite Way"
Dec 1, 2005 "The
Future Of The Democratic Party, VIII:
A Politically Viable Progressive Position On The War"
Nov
25, 2005 “The Future Of The Democratic Party, VII: ‘The Ten Commitments’”
Nov 17, 2005 "The
Future Of The Democratic Party, VI: An Organizing Proposal For Progressives”
Nov 10, 2005 “The
Future Of The Democratic Party, V:
There Is No Middle Ground"
Nov 3, 2005
“On
The (Possible) Indictments.”
Oct
27, 2005 “The
Future of the Democratic Party, IV:
Bush, Bennett, Miers, and the DLC.”
Oct 20, 2005 “The
Future Of The Democratic Party, III:
First Thoughts On Dealing With The DLC.”
Oct 13, 2005 “The Future Of The Democratic Party, II: On The Republicans”
Oct 6, 2005
“The Future Of The Democratic Party, I”
Sept
29, 2005 "The
Bush Flood, And The Georgites: New Orleans, III"
Sept 22, 2005 "On The Great New Orleans Flood Of 2005, II"
Sept 15, 2005 "On
The Great New Orleans Bush Flood Of 2005, I"
Sept 8, 2005 "Let's
Hear It For Original Intent"
Sept 1, 2005 "An
Iraq Solution"
Aug
25,2005 "Some
Thoughts On The Atomic Bombing Of Japan"
Aug 18, 2005 "Why
God Sent Us George W. Bush"
Aug 12, 2005 "John
Bolton And The Nuclear Option II"
Aug 5, 2005
"The
Significance Of The Karl Rove Speech"
July
28, 2005
“Iran
Nukes, Revisited"
(Expanded Edition)
July 21, 2005
“Iran
Nukes, Revisited"
July 14, 2005
"The
Dick Durbin Disaster" A Follow Up
July 7, 2005
"The Dick Durban Disaster"
June
23, 2005 "Why
All Of This Repression Abroad?"
June 16, 2005 “Not Very Intelligent Design"
June 8,2005
"Pat
Buchanan's "What If, "III?"
June 2, 2005
"Pat Buchanan's 'What If,' II?"
May
26, 2005 "Pat Buchanan's 'What If?'"
May 18, 2005 "The
Schiavo Case, V: The Attack On Science"
May 12, 2005 “Possible
Explanations For Bush-Behavior On And Around 9/11"
May 5, 2005
"Bill
Frist's Declaration Of War"
April
28, 2005 "The
Schiavo Case, IV: The Definitions Of Life And Death"
April 24, 2005
"The
Schiavo Case, III: Further Legal Considerations And Their Political
Implications"
April 14, 2005
“The
Schiavo Case, II: William Bennett And The Beginning Of The End Of The Separation
Of Powers"
April 7, 2005
"The
Schiavo Case And The Locus Of The 'Police Power'"
March
31, 2005 “John
Bolton And The Nuclear Option"
March 22, 2005
Of
"Moolahs," Putin and Bush
March 17, 2005
Georgite
"Freedom And Democracy"
March 10, 2005
"We
Won't Have To Worry Any More"
March 3, 2005
"Iranian
Nukes"
February
24, 2005 "Going
Nuclear In Iran"
February 16, 2005 “The
Georgite Social Security Scam: Bases For Suspicion”
February 10, 2005 “The
Georgite Version of ‘Freedom and Democracy’ ”
“The Coming 2nd Civil War (Unless),” No. 6
Feb 3, 2005
“WMD
Discovered --- In Washington”
Jan
27, 2005
“Comparing
George W. Bush And Adolf Hitler”
Jan 18, 2005 “The
Bush Second Inaugural: A Preview” “The Coming 2nd Civil War
(Unless),” No. 5
Jan 13, 2005 “The
Georgite Concept of Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law”
Jan 6, 2005
“The
‘Unless’ Of The ‘Coming Second Civil War’ Series; Part II”
Dec
30, 2004
“The
‘Unless’ of the ‘Coming Second Civil War’ Series, Part I”
Dec 23, 2004
“The
Real Meaning Of The ‘Faith-Based Presidency;’ Part II”
Dec 15, 2004
“The
Coming Second Civil War (Unless)”
Dec 9, 2004
“The
Real Meaning Of The ‘Faith-Based Presidency’ ”
Oct
28, 2004
Why
The Patriot Act?”
Oct. 21, 2004
“The
Cheneys’ Daughter Flap”
Oct 14, 2004
“George
Bush’s America”
Oct 7, 2004
“The
Debate”
Sept
30, 2004
“Four
800 Lb. Gorillas In The Campaign Room”
Sept 23, 2004
"Fixing
The Kerry Campaign, 9/15/2004"
Sept 16, 2004
"Lessons
From Japan. Part II: Successful Occupations"
Sept 9, 2004
"Thoughts
On the Third Anniversary of the Tragedy of 9/11/2001"
Sept 2, 2004
"Lessons
From Japan, Part 1"
August 26,2004
“Dealing
with the Republican National Convention and Related
Issues”
August 18, 2004
"The
Best Of Dr. Jonas"
August 12, 2004
“Some
Thoughts For and About The Kerry Campaign, VI”
August 5,2004
“Some
Thoughts For and About The Kerry Campaign, V”
July
29, 2004
“Some
Thoughts For and About The Kerry Campaign, IV”
July 22, 2004
“Some
Thoughts For and About The Kerry Campaign III”
July 15, 2004
“Some
Thoughts For And About The Kerry Campaign II”
July 7, 2004
“Some
Thoughts For And About The Kerry Campaign,I”
July 1, 2004
“Counsel
To The President”
June 24, 2004
“
’You Know me Al:’ On the German Reichstag Fire of Feb. 27, 1933
and the 9/11/01 Bombing of the World Trade Center, Part II”
June 17, 2004
“ ‘The Ralph Nader Problem’ --- A Re-run plus”
June 10, 2004
“Ronald
Reagan’s Legacy”
June 3, 2004
“’You
Know Me Al:’ On The Reichstag Fire Of Feb. 27, 1933 And The
9/11/01 Bombing Of The World Trade Center,
Part I”
May
27, 2004
“On
Fascism -- And The Georgites”
May 20, 2004
“On
John Ashcroft -- And Jefferson Davis”
May 13, 2004
“Karl
Rove’s Personal Political Notebook”
May 6, 2004
“Possible
Explanations For Bush Behavior And 9/11”
April
29, 2004
“On
George Bush and Religion, Part 2”
April 22, 2004
“What
Condi Rice Might Have Said”
April 8, 2004
“On
George Bush And Religion”
April 1, 2004
“Some
Political Thoughts For Senator Kerry”
March
25, 2004
“Brief
Essays”
March 16, 2004
“You
Know Me Al: The Iraq War --- So What Was It About, Anyway?
March 11, 2004
“A
Word (Or Two) On Ralph Nader”
March 4, 2004
“A
Firebell In The Night”
February
27, 2004 “On
Doctor Dean”
