16-09-2003 05:32									#1
	Kerry Lays Out Iraq Plan Tired of ads?

quote: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential contender John Kerry on Monday laid out a plan for postwar Iraq (news - web sites) that would transfer political responsibility to the United Nations (news - web sites) and require the richest Americans to sacrifice their tax cuts to help pay for reconstruction. The Massachusetts senator, who voted for a congressional resolution supporting the Iraq war, accused President Bush (news - web sites) of having "bungled" the process after the U.S.-led invasion and ouster of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). In a position paper released on Monday, Kerry declared the Bush policy "a looming failure" that could threaten U.S. national security if not corrected. One of nine Democrats seeking the party's presidential nomination in 2004, Kerry has said he might vote against Bush's request for $87 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites). His Iraq plan was drawn up with the help of Rand Beers, a veteran Washington hand and a top counterterrorism adviser in the Bush White House who quit earlier this year over the administration's handling of the war on terrorism and homeland security. Two months later, Beers signed on with the Democrat's campaign to unseat his former boss. The Kerry blueprint for Iraq envisages a U.N. resolution authorizing a military force under U.S. command and transferring responsibility to the United Nations for the political and humanitarian efforts. The second part was "the hook" that would get more countries on board financially and militarily, Beers said in a telephone interview. The Bush administration has been reluctant to give up any power in postwar Iraq. The U.N. resolution would open the door to "greater sharing and a lower U.S. profile," Kerry said. More Americans have died in Iraq since May 1 -- when Bush declared major combat operations over -- than were killed during the invasion. Kerry stressed the need for "effective" American diplomacy because Bush had "squandered the international good will" that flowed after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. He would accelerate transfer of responsibility to Iraqis on an announced timetable without waiting for "perfection, or elections or a constitution," but called the French proposal of a total turnover in one month "too rapid." "We don't have a specific timeframe, but it would not be as quick as the French want and not as long as the administration is saying," Beers said. "You don't have to have a perfect final form to transfer power." Kerry said he planned to pay for military costs and reconstruction in Iraq by rolling back Bush's tax cuts for Americans who earn more than $330,000 a year, a notion the president has called "absurd" because it would snuff out a U.S. economic recovery. Beers said Kerry's intention was to offset the entire $87 billion that Bush has requested for Iraq and Afghanistan and not add to the projected half-a-trillion-dollar federal budget deficit. A Washington Post/ABC News poll published on Sunday found that 60 per cent of Americans disapproved of Bush's request.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...s_iraq_kerry_dc

	16-09-2003 05:44									#2
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I like Kerry he's a stand up guy while Dean just flip flops on every issue depending upon the polls. I've lost track of how many times Dean has changed his position on important issues depending upon whom he's giving a speech to. Just today MSNBC interviewed Dean and asked him why in his recent speech he said he was against NAFTA but then they showed Dean a tape of him from last year where Dean called himself "a really big supporter of NAFTA and free trade".

I don't always agree with Kerry but Kerry at least sticks with his positions as a matter of principle and doesn't just switch with the wind.

	16-09-2003 05:53									#3
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I don't think Kerry's plan is realistic and more than a little disingenuous. It doesn't look like we could get much add'l help from other countries even if we turned over the whole thing to the UN. So you would have an even worse authority vacuum.

Further, the reason why we can't get much help is because the other security council members weren't hip on the idea of taking Hussein down. We took him down anyway (which Kerry agreed to btw), so we shouldn't expect much support from the others.

Most of the Dems rhetorically locked themselves into taking a certain line with regard to Iraq. It's going to be difficult for them to get out of the box.

	16-09-2003 07:31									#4
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I think Kerry's plan would hurt efforts to stabilize the country.

	16-09-2003 08:33									#5
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I agree with Dr. Sub

	16-09-2003 11:08									#6
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I'm not sure the Kerry plan would work because of what DanS has said. I don't think the UN really wants the job, even if they get full authority in the country.

	16-09-2003 11:14									#7
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

It's too late for the UN

We gotta do this ourselves and with our Coalition of Willing New Eurocoms

	16-09-2003 12:08									#8
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It would help if we could get countries like India, Pakistan, Turkey, Russia, France, and Germany to contribute troops. The first four have said they'd likely do so if the UN was given political control. Depending upon how many troops we're talking about and if the US/UK can maintain control over military affairs then it might be a good trade off.

	16-09-2003 13:50									#9
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I still think it's "funny" how an american politician is deciding on the future of a people of a country which is half a world away (both geographically as culturally) ... This is why you have failed in the past, and this is why you will fail again in Iraq.

	16-09-2003 14:00									#10
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I'd have to say our biggest mistake in the past was liberating Belgium from the Nazis. What were we thinking?

	16-09-2003 14:08									#11
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indeed, and they almost kicked your butt back out (which luckily they didn't on a more serious note)

oh and by the way, at that time, your administration didn't have to enforce their laws and views upon the local population (since they are quite similar)...

	16-09-2003 14:10									#12
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I don't know what Kerry is smoking. However, this plan is plan that I am sure the Iraqi's themselves would oppose. They know that the UN opposed Iraqi liberation and that the coalition rescued them from Saddam's oppression. Turning their country over to the enemy is the ultimate act of betrayal. If you think that the political problem is bad with the Baathists against the coalition, it will get a lot worse when the ordinary Iraqi revolts against the UN occupation.

	16-09-2003 19:16									#13
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quote: oh and by the way, at that time, your administration didn't have to enforce their laws and views upon the local population (since they are quite similar)...

I don't quite understand this comment. Iraq's legal system is based on the Brit legal system.

	16-09-2003 19:29									#14
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quote: They know that the UN opposed Iraqi liberation and that the coalition rescued them from Saddam's oppression. Turning their country over to the enemy is the ultimate act of betrayal.

My guess is that more people on apolyton are thinking over what you -not Kelly- are smoking.

	17-09-2003 07:40									#15
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quote: Originally posted by dannubis indeed, and they almost kicked your butt back out

Nice dreamland you're living in

They got their asses KICKED

	17-09-2003 07:41									#16
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quote: Originally posted by dannubis I still think it's "funny" how an american politician is deciding on the future of a people of a country which is half a world away (both geographically as culturally) ... This is why you have failed in the past, and this is why you will fail again in Iraq.

Certainly the Marshall Plan was a failure, especially in the case of Belgium

	17-09-2003 07:45									#17
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quote: Originally posted by Ted Striker Certainly the Marshall Plan was a failure, especially in the case of Belgium

this isn't the Marshall Plan... it's the Kellogg, Brown, and Root Plan.

	17-09-2003 07:49									#18
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quote: Originally posted by Ted Striker They got their asses KICKED

The battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive and took the allies completely by surprise. The succeeded in retaking 1/3 of Belgium and we weren't able to stop them until after a series of winter storms passed and we could regain control of the skies.