You have to admit that Dean now looks like a genius...

[CTLawGuy]

Now that Iraq War favorables are at 31%, anyone who opposed the war in Iraq could take huge advantage. I remember when the primaries were still going on in full force, some people here were saying that anyone who opposed the war was unelectable. Current events have vindicated Dean's position. I think you have to hand it to him for sticking to his principles. His reward is the knowledge that in the end he was right.

Kerry needs to take a strong stand on this. First he should apologize for voting for IWR. Next he should advocate a plan that sets a hard date for troop withdrawal. In my opinion, he should advocate partitioning Iraq into 3 states corresponding with the three major ethnic groups: a Shiite state in the south, a Sunni state near Baghdad, and a Kurdish state in the north. Partitioning will do three good things:

1. It will curtail violence associated with a power vacuum. If there is a homogenous population in each state, it is less likely there will be violent conflict among factions, as there most certainly would be if the nation were left whole.

2. It will leave each state hopefully small enough as not to be too much trouble to neighboring countries, should they decide to make trouble.

3. It would allow each group a measure of independence. This is especially key for the Kurds in the north. It is what they've wanted for a long time.

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Kerry needs to start kicking Bush when he's down and get out there with a clear alternative to decade-long occupation. I don't like his "stay the course, bring in the UN" rhetoric, granted Dean had similar ideas. However, I think now, events dictate that we need to get out ASAP.