Five Years Later, A Responsible Plan to End the War

Though Dick Cheney couldn't give a damn, opposition to the Iraq War has solidified in the country. For all the talk of the "success" of the escalation, talk that the traditional media is still happy to report, a vast majority of Americans remain steadfast in their opposition to it.

Meanwhile, it goes on. Five long, disastrous years have wreaked moral, economic, and political havoc here at home, and throughout the world in an ever widening ripple. Every dollar spent on the Iraq War has an opportunity cost attached, and will continue to for as long as it goes on. And it won't be over when the last of the troops come home. Iraq will still need to be rebuilt. Many of our returned soldiers and marines will still need medical care, some for the remainder of their lives. The deferred maintenance of our nation's social and physical infrastructure will result in untold billions necessary just to catch up again.

Into this mess step Darcy Burner and her colleagues, Congressional hopefuls who are making their own contract with America, a contract in the form of A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq. From the executive summary of the plan:

What follows is a series of objectives that, taken together, refocus our current military involvement in the region while repairing damage to the U.S. to prevent a repeat of our mistakes. We have included some sample legislation currently in Congress to show that these objectives have been identified and can be addressed given sufficient political will. We have also included recommendations that the Baker-Hamilton Commission published in the Iraq Study Group Report. In some cases, no existing legislation or clear recommendations exist and new authorizing legislation plus careful planning would be required.

Supporters of this document have committed to these objectives. The American people do not need to wait for a new Congress and new administration to pursue this agenda: public pressure on our current elected officials to act can help us move in the right direction even before January 2009, when we hope a new presidential administration and a new Congress will avail themselves of the opportunity to address the great challenges we face as a nation. We are aware that facts on the ground will change moving forward, and the legislation is included just to show that a responsible end to the war is possible given the political will.

Those objectives include ending US military action in Iraq, using our diplomatic power in the region to bring stability, addressing humanitarian concerns, restoring our Constitution, restoring our military, restoring media independence, and creating a new, US-centered energy policy. Each of these objectives address the myriad of national and international problems exacerbated by the ongoing occupation in Iraq. Burner, who spearheaded the effort, worked with a number of military experts to develop the plan, all of whom have endorsed it. In addition to Gen. Eaton, Brig. Gen. Johns, Dr. Korb and Cpt. Seaquist who were orignal endorsers, today Rand Beers, a counterterrorism expert who served on the National Security Council under Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, endorsed the plan with this statement:

"The Democratic challengers that produced this responsible plan to end the war in Iraq prove that Democrats can successfully and responsibly discuss national security issues of the first order, and discuss them in ways that represent real solutions to the real problems that we face."

The original ten challengers have been joined in the last two days by nine more House hopefuls and two Senate candidates. The new House challengers are Darius Shahinfar (NY-21), Faye Armitage (FL-07), Harry Taylor (NC-09), Lt. Col. Jim Hunt (MT-AL), Alan Grayson (FL-08), Dennis Shulman (NJ-05), Larry Grant (ID-01), Tom Wyka (NJ-11), and Cheryl Sabel (AL-02). Taking solid aim at the Oregon Senate seat, both challengers Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick have signed on.

Look at some of those districts: North Carolina, Montana, Idaho, Alabama. That should be enough to demonstrate to anyone that there is political will, from the entire country, to finally end this war.

Update: A recent addition: Greg Fischer (KY-Sen).