JK on CNN – Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer

JK pulled no punches in his discussion with Wolf Blitzer on Late Edition this morning. He repeated his call for a firm deadline for withdrawal and referred to the ISG report’s outline of a withdrawal process as a key consideration. He said again that there needs to be an immediate international effort between Iraq and all of its neighbors to reach an accord which will provide stability to the region. Important points that, as Mr. Blitzer acknowledged, he’s been saying for a long time.

Late Edition Transcript | Video

The NY Times editorial board today expressed a view that many hold:

It was surreal how disconnected President Bush was the other night, both from Iraq’s horrifying reality and America’s anguish over this unnecessary, mismanaged and now unwinnable war. Indeed, most Americans seem far ahead of the president. They understand that what the country urgently needs is for Mr. Bush to chart a way out of Iraq that also limits the chaos that will be left behind.

The president’s disconnect goes far to explain the harshly critical reaction of Congress and the public to his plan to further bleed America’s overstretched forces by sending some 20,000 additional troops in an attempt to impose peace on Baghdad’s vengeful streets. He proposes to do that without any enforceable commitments from the Iraqi government that it will take the necessary political steps that are the only hope for tamping down a spiraling civil war.

There are no really satisfying answers in Iraq, since all of the remaining options are bad. Still, some are notably worse than others, and Mr. Bush has come up with possibly the worst. He would mortgage thousands more American lives and what remains of Washington’s credibility in the region to a destructively sectarian Shiite government that he seems unwilling or unable to influence or restrain.

The editorial went on to outline points of action that affirm the wisdom of JK’s prior calls for action in Iraq:

And so long as any American troops remain in Iraq, Mr. Bush must put serious pressure on Mr. Maliki to support the troops’ efforts with a genuine program of national reconciliation. That must include, at a minimum, ridding the police and other security services of killers, torturers and criminals and disarming all sectarian militias.

The government must also assure that Iraqi oil revenues are fairly shared out among the entire Iraqi population. And it must move quickly to offer an amnesty to Sunni insurgents willing to put down their weapons, and narrow the legal restrictions on former Baath Party members so that Sunni professionals can once again fully participate in Iraqi national life.

These benchmarks should be accompanied by fixed timelines. And they must be accompanied with a clear message that the United States is prepared to withdraw its troops if the Iraqis continue to refuse to take responsibility for their own future. Mr. Bush and other American officials need to make clear that as much as the United States will suffer from a complete collapse in Iraq, Iraq’s leaders will suffer far worse from the loss of their American protectors.

Mr. Bush should reinforce that message by convening a conference of all of Iraq’s neighbors to discuss how they can help stabilize Iraq — and what they can do to contain the wider chaos should it come. With nearly two million Iraqis already seeking refuge, mainly in Syria and Jordan, it is far past time for American officials to begin their own planning and relief efforts.

As Wolf Blitzer noted, JK has been speaking about this for sometime.

June 28, 2005 JK on the Senate floor

Getting it right also means using our overwhelming leverage to get the Iraqis to do their part. ... Getting it right also means putting together a real plan for the training of Iraqi troops and following through on it. This should be our top priority. It’s the key to getting our troops home and avoiding a humiliating withdrawal. ... Getting it right also means drawing up a detailed plan with the clear milestone of transfer of military and police responsibilities to Iraqis after the December elections. The Administration’s plan should take into account both political and security objectives, including Iraqi force structure, and be specifically tied to a defined series of tasks and accomplishments. This plan must be more than dates and numbers – it must make clear to the Iraqi government that American patience is limited.

Getting it right also means understanding the neighborhood – and getting those with an interest in Iraq, like the Saudis, to act now. Iraq is surrounded by Sunni neighbors with significant resources, yet complaints about being left out fall on deaf ears. They could do so much more to help, and we should encourage them. Even short-term improvements, such as providing electricity from their power grids, or supplying diesel fuel – an offer made yet unfulfilled by the Saudis – will go a long way. But we have to do our part and address their legitimate concerns if we want these nations to step up to the plate and help us secure Iraq’s borders, bring Sunnis into the political process, or rebuild Iraq’s economy and infrastructure. We must offer a coherent strategic plan for regional security. We must address their fears of an Iran-dominated crescent, and their concerns about our sporadic mediation between Israel and the Palestinians. This Administration needs to show that it understands there has to be some give and take.

The administration must immediately draw up a detailed plan with clear milestones and deadlines for the transfer of military and police responsibilities to Iraqis after the December elections. The plan should be shared with Congress. The guideposts should take into account political and security needs and objectives and be linked to specific tasks and accomplishments.

June 20, 2006 JK & Russ Feingold on dailykos.com, “Set A Deadline for Iraq”

It is time to set a schedule with the new Iraqi government for the redeployment of American combat forces. Doing so will empower the new Iraqi leadership, put Iraqis in the position of running their own country and undermine support for the insurgency. There is no doubt that much of the instability in Iraq is being fueled by the majority of Iraqis who want us to leave their country. Only troops essential to finishing the job of training Iraqi forces and conducting targeted anti-terrorist operations should remain.

Key to this transition is a long overdue engagement in serious and sustained diplomacy. To give Iraq its best hope for a peaceful future, convene a summit that includes the leaders of that country, its neighbors, and representatives from the Arab League, NATO, the UN and the European Union to forge the comprehensive political solution that is necessary to bring stability to Iraq. Making it clear that America will not stay in Iraq forever pressures the regional players to step up and assume their fair share of the burden – indeed it may be the only step that will get Iraqis’ neighbors directly, and positively, engaged in helping establish the stability of Iraq.

October 26, 2005 Speech at Georgetown University

“The way forward in Iraq is not to pull out precipitously or merely promise to stay ‘as long as it takes.’ To undermine the insurgency, we must instead simultaneously pursue both a political statement and the withdrawal of American combat forces linked to specific, responsible benchmarks. ... The Administration must immediately give Congress and the American people a detailed plan for the transfer of military and police responsibilities on a sector by sector basis to Iraqis so a majority of our combat forces can be withdrawn.”

October 26, 2005 Speech at Georgetown University

“It will be hard for this Administration, but it is essential to acknowledge that the insurgency will not be defeated unless our troop levels are drawn down, starting immediately after successful elections in December. The draw down of troops should be tied not to an arbitrary timetable, but to a specific timetable for transfer of political and security responsibility to Iraqis and realignment of our troop deployment. That timetable must be real and strict. The goal should be to withdraw the bulk of American combat forces by the end of next year. If the Administration does its work correctly, that is achievable.”

December 24, 2006 The Washington Post, “When Resolve Turns Reckless”:

We have already tried a trimmed-down version of the McCain plan of indefinitely increasing troop levels. We sent 15,000 more troops to Baghdad last summer, and today the escalating civil war is even worse. You could put 100,000 more troops in tomorrow and you’re only going to add to the number of casualties until Iraqis sit down together at a bargaining table and compromise. The barrel of a gun can’t answer the question of how you force Iraqi nationalism to trump sectarian loyalty.

The only hope for stability lies in pushing Iraqis to forge a sustainable political agreement on federalism, distributing oil revenues and neutralizing sectarian militias. And that will happen only if we set a deadline to redeploy our troops.