4um: Obama on Iraq - He supports the Biden-Gelb Plan

Title: Obama on Iraq - He supports the Biden-Gelb Plan
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Published: Mar 26, 2008
Author: Various
Post Date: 2008-03-26 13:57:24 by Jethro Tull
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Views: 2660
Comments: 55

Biden Campaign Welcomes Sen. Obama's Support for Biden-Gelb Plan for Iraq

The presidential campaign of Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., issued the following news release:

Wilmington, DE (August 16, 2007) -- The Biden Campaign today welcomed Sen. Barack Obama's support of the Biden-Gelb Plan for Iraq.

At a town hall meeting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Sen. Obama said, "The idea of a partition, of some sort, in Iraq, some sort of federal system that gave the Sunni, the Shia, the Kurds their own autonomy in their regions, is something that's been talked about....I had a long conversation with Les Gelb, who used to be the head of the Council on Foreign Relations, and who advised Biden on this plan. I think it may end up being the best solution [Obama Town Hall Meeting, Cedar Rapids, IA, 7/30/07.]

To view the video of Sen. Obama's statement of support for the Biden-Gelb Plan for Iraq go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ7dSVyP1p4

For well over one year, Sen. Biden has argued that the only way to maintain a unified Iraq is to decentralize it, thereby giving the Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis local control over their daily lives - as provided for in the Iraqi Constitution. Specifically, Section 112 of the Constitution states, "The federal system in the Republic of Iraq is made up of a decentralized capital, regions and governorates, and local administrations" The Constitution gives significant powers to the regions and limits the authority of the central government to truly common concerns like border security and the distribution of oil revenues.

"There is not a single person out there, including all of my democratic opponents, who want our troops to spend another day - another minute - in Iraq. And we're getting out one way or the other. But what do we do when we leave and how we leave makes a big difference. It is going to matter and I have a political plan that gives us a way to leave without leaving chaos behind" said Sen. Biden. "There is absolutely no chance - zero - that the Iraqi people will support a strong central government. It is time for the Democratic Party to unite and get behind the Biden-Gelb plan. And it is time for all of my colleagues to join with myself and Sens. Boxer, Brownback and Nelson in supporting our legislation which would make this plan the policy of our government."

"Sen. Clinton and others continue to cling to the idea that Iraq can come together behind a strong central government. This is just mistaken.", said Sen. Biden. "The Bush Administration has pushed this idea for years and we continue to see this does not work and will only lead to continuing civil war and increasing danger in unstable world. (http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=2354 ) We must answer the question of what happens after we leave Iraq, and in my view, the only real solution is a loosely federated regional system, as called for in the Iraqi constitution. We need to debate this issue of what comes next in Iraq - and we need to do that now."

Sen. Biden also today launched a new series of videos on his website www.headtohead08.com which show some of the latest videos on this topic, including Sens. Clinton, Obama and Governor Richardson.

Biden-Gelb Plan

OK, from what I've read, Obama is buying the Biden-Gelb Plan for Iraq. What it calls for is a partition of Iraq, with separate parts of the country to be carved out for the Sunni, Shia, the Kurds. It’s a political settlement, rather than a militarily one. In any event, it does mention that America’s interests in the region will be maintained (read oil) and a military presence will be maintained there (no mention of the number to remain or the length of their stay). It also doesn’t mention when the completion date of this plan will be or when our troops will begin to come home.

Anyone out there in 4umland read get anything different from this CFR hatched delight? (1 image)

Whether inspired by CFR or not, show me the candidate with a chance of winning w/o ties to CFR.

Only the northern Kurds want to completely withdraw from Iraq and form an independent nation, Kurdistan. They should be allowed to do this, since they were forced by the Allied occupation after the first World War, to become part of Iraq. Most of the present national boundaries around Iraq were arbitrarily created by the Allies without any consideration or understanding of the ethnic, tribal, religious or sectarian groups.

In 1923, Turkey was recognized as an independent nation according to the Treaty of Lausanne. This treaty divided the Kurdish region among Turkey, Iraq and Iran.

The Kurds have consistently sought independence. After the Persian Gulf War in 1991, the U.S. encouraged the Kurds to rise up against Saddam Hussein and establish independence. However when the Kurds did start a rebellion, the U.S. and U.N. did nothing to assist them, as they had promised.

This resulted in the Iraqi Army killing thousands of Kurds. The U.S. then blamed Hussein for the killings, even though the U.S. was primarily responsible for instigating the uprising. The U.S. abandoned the Kurds in their struggle for independence and then blamed Hussein for crushing the insurgency. The U.S. also condemned Hussein for using poison gas against the Kurds during the rebellion.

The U.S. failed to note that it was the U.S. and U.K. that had given Hussein the poison gas during the Iraq-Iran war. Apparently the U.S. approved of Hussein using the poison gas against the Iranians but disapproved of him using it against the Kurds. What´s the difference? (The U.S. still has huge stockpiles of poison gas and lethal chemicals that have not yet been destroyed. The U.S. has more WMD than any nation on Earth.)

Ah,,,,,,yeah, they do, but that isn't the argument. The argument is, now that Obama has bought into this Plan, when will it be consummated, and more specifically, when will the American military no longer be in Iraq as occupiers?

I swear, some of these airheads are bowing to Mecca five times a day and running around in drag on these forums...