HE WAS CORRECT BACK THEN, AND HE’S STILL CORRECT!

Vice President Biden, now President Obama's Special Envoy to Iraq introduced an Amendment in 2007, written with Leslie Gelb, on Federalism in Iraq that is similar to our Plan V.

In Sept. of 2007, while the Iraq war was spinning out of control with no end in sight, then-Senator Joe Biden of Deleware introduced an amendment to the 2008 defense authorization bill entitled “Sense of Congress on Federalism in Iraq.”

During those violent times, there was no leadership coming out of the White House nor from the new al-Malaki government in Baghdad. The ethno-sectarian chaos in Iraq was filling the streets with the dead and injured on a daily basis. American casualties were mounting. The war was out of control, and the Bush administration was doing nothing but hunkering down and attacking anyone who disagreed with them.

Senator Biden saw the solution within Iraq’s own Constitution: A FEDERAL SYSTEM. (We have included the full text of this amendment) He believed – and still does – that the only way to separate the warring factions was to provide them with a degree of independence – of autonomy!

THE IRAQI CONSTITUTION IS CLEAR ON THIS SUBJECT!

SECTION ONE, Article #1 states: The Republic of Iraq is a single FEDERAL independent and fully sovereign state….

SECTION FIVE, Article #116 states: The Federal System in the Republic of Iraq is made up of a decentralized capitol, REGIONS and governorates (provinces)….

ARTICLE #119 states: One or more governorates (provinces) shall have the right to organize into a region…

The salvation for Iraq was already there in the Constitution. Senator Biden and his many bi-partisan co-sponsors wanted Congress to go on record as supporting this solution. Their intention was to send a loud message to the White House that Congress was out of patience with the Bush administration’s do-nothing policies in Iraq. Biden lead the charge to publicly demonstrate that Iraq had a solution to the spiraling violence, if they would only follow through on their own constitutional requirements.

THE BIDEN AMENDMENT was approved by Congress as a non-binding resolution.

The Bush administration and the al-Malaki government immediately denounced the Biden Amendment and slandered it by calling it a ‘partition plan’ that would destroy Iraq.

Nothing was ever done to advance the cause of FEDERALISM in Iraq!

Today we see the results of their failed leadership. The Bush administration is to blame for not forcing al-Malaki to do the right thing, and al-Malaki’s government should be condemned for not honoring their Constitutional responsibilities.

Iraq is experiencing more and more violence in the cities and in the north. And national reconciliation, unity and security are still distant dreams.

The circle comes fully around! Joe Biden is now our Vice President, and he recently was appointed by President Obama to be his Special Envoy to Iraq.

Biden now has the unique opportunity to throw the considerable weight of the presidency into this issue, and we expect him to once again lead the charge for FEDERALISM IN IRAQ.