Biden, Brownback Discuss Plan B for Iraq

[oberliner]

Source: ABC News

April 25, 2007— Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., a Republican presidential candidate, said Wednesday that he is talking with Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., a Senate colleague who is also running for president, about the possibility of teaming up to offer bipartisan legislation that would pursue a "three-state/one-country" solution for Iraq.

"You need a political as well as a military solution for Iraq," said Brownback, who believes that the Bush administration is pursuing a strategy in Iraq that is "dominated by the military and Maliki," Iraq's prime minister.

Biden originally offered his "unity through autonomy" idea for Iraq's Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds in a May 1, 2006, op-ed in The New York Times, which he co-wrote with Leslie Gelb of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3078964&page=1

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Three-state solution?

Anyone have thoughts on this concept?

[MUAD_DIB]

1. Yes. I think that they call it civil war.

[Tom Joad]

2. I would love for Brownbeck/Biden to campaign across Iraq for such a policy

I can't think of a better place for them to be right now.
I am sure they will be well-received, flowers thrown at their feet and all that.

[IndianaGreen]

3. Nothing like imposing white colonialism on the Middle East, again!

Why don't we do the world and ourselves a favour and breakup this country instead? Let Jesusland go off on their merry way with the war in Iraq and the national debt, and let a new secular American republic rise from the ashes of Bush's Amerika.

[TwilightGardener]

4. Wow, everyone is jumping on the "Political" solution bandwagon

now--six months ago Biden and a few others were pretty much the lone voices. Hope he tells Brownback to go fuck himself--why should he help give Brownback's failing prez candidacy a boost when this clown wouldn't even vote for non-binding resolutions or timetables?

[IndianaGreen]

5. No one has bothered to ask the Iraqi people

If they had, they would be supporting an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all US troops and personnel from Iraq and the closing of all the bases.

[karynnj]

7. 9 months ago Biden voted against Kerry/Feingold

which included a major diplomatic summit where the Iraqis and their neighbors could work out the political issues. At that time, Biden spoke of his amendment then co-sponsored by - I think - no one as the Levin amendment was debated.

[TwilightGardener]

9. Did Biden say why he voted against, or does he just think his

ideas are better?

[karynnj]

13. Probably willful ignorance and wanting his own plan

In answer to your question I used Thomas to access the Senate record.

In his speech saying why he was going to vote for the Levin amendment he speaks of how it called for diplomacy - but ignores that Kerry/Feingold had that provision too. He ignores every element that Kerry and Feingold carefully crafted - which Senator Warner gave Kerry the opportunity to debate late at night. His comment is of the type that accepted the RW view of "cut and run" for a plan that was not precipitous withdrawal but withdrawal in a year during which time many thisgs were suppose to happen in parallel. Biden also ignores that Levin was non-binding while Kerry/Feingold was binding. (My guess - it was political and he didn't want the attacks he thought could come if he voted for it.)

Here is the only paragraph referring to Kerry/Feingold:
" I want to point out a couple of things. I have listened to some of this debate. Sometimes I wonder whether we are debating the Levin amendment or not. The Levin-Reed amendment says two things. It lays out a plan. The front part of it is the part that is being ignored by most people. The amendment lays out a specific plan to avoid trading a dictatorship for chaos in Iraq . Right now, I respectfully suggest the President has a plan how not to lose but no plan how to win. In my view, a plan to arbitrarily set a date to leave is not a plan. It is an expression of overwhelming frustration and maybe on the part of some a conclusion reached that it is not winnable because it has been so badly handled the last 2 years. I respect that position. I don't agree with it, but I respect it. "

On the good side, Biden was also furious that a Biden amendment calling for no funding for permanent bases had been stripped out. (atypically, Biden gave Kerry credit for pushing Dr Rice until it became clear that she admitted that they wouldn't rule it out.)

[karynnj]

6. Iraq may split in parts, bur there are problems with US doing it

This is one of several possibilities that could come out of a regional and Iraqi summit.

The precedence of the US doing the splitting is that of Britain doing the same thing as the empire ended. Nearly every line they boldly drew - led to trouble.

[grytpype]

8. It won't work.

Baghdad is a mixed city, what are they going to do with Baghdad?

And will the Sunnis accept being given a desert with no oil to live on? I don't think so!

Turkey will not like an autonomous Kurdistan on their border, not one bit.

This is just another failed brainstorm. There's nothing to do about Iraq but step back and let the slaughter continue until it reaches some kind of end point that no one can predict.

[radfringe]

10. Plan b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j,k, l ,m, n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z.....

[lyonn]

11. The U.S. has States consisting of Governors with their own local laws

In a way that could make sense in Iraq. One head of the country like a president. Each state would have it's own police, utilities, etc.

The Iraqis must decide how they will attempt to get along. It is the trouble makers that want to keep things stirred up so that Iraq will be in a constant state of war. Who they are, how many of them, who knows. But for sure the Sunnis ran the show for years. This will be tricky.

Oh yes, and then the matter of oil.

[triguy46]

12. If it sells in Peoria

It's doomed in baghdad. It will require at least de facto partition, division of resources, a level of cooperation that we cannot model to people who do not trust us,... this makes me very tired.