Iraq

WHERE DO THEY GO FROM HERE? The Iraqi Parliamentary Election And The Formation Of A New Government

The good news is that the Parliamentary elections finally came off in Iraq. The bad news is that voting was down from the 2009 Provincial elections, and that deadly violence continues to plague and terrorize Iraqi society.

But now the true test begins! In the weeks and months ahead, the two winning alliances in this election will have to work together to form a coalition government – and the sooner the better. The longer the al-Malaki government is in limbo, and his status as prime minister is uncertain, the more time Iraq has to fragment once again.

Al- Malaki’s STATE OF LAW party apparently split the majority of votes with former prime minister Ayad Allawi’s secular coalition, THE IRAQI NATIONAL MOVEMENT. Al-Malaki has successfully held off the more sectarian Shiite coalition, THE NATIONAL IRAQI ALLIANCE.

We now have the forces for democratic reform, openness and true reconciliation – Allawi’s coalition – in a strong position to wrest significant power from the corrupt and dictatorial Shiite-dominated government of Nuri al-Malaki.

The question thus becomes, will al-Malaki allow it? Will his Shiite government, and their supporters in the military, bow to the will of the voters or will they manufacture any excuse to suspend the democratic process and the election mandate?

Al-Malaki’s tenure as prime minister is very much in doubt, even within his own limited coalition. His reckless and transparent endorsement of the illegal disenfranchisement of over 500 candidates from this election made him new enemies.

If the forces for peace, justice and honest government are successful, Ayad Allawi will emerge as the most respected and logical candidate for prime minister within these two coalitions.  All other arrangements and power-sharing decisions will flow from this one. Al-Malaki has accumulated much power within the office of the prime minister, and he will not give it up without a struggle, especially to Allawi, who has spoken out forcefully over the years in favor of a government free from religious dominance and influence.

The next few weeks and months will define Iraqi democracy once and for all.  The strong showing by THE IRAQI NATIONAL MOVEMENT means that the Shiite stranglehold on power is seriously threatened.

We know from experience that elections alone do not guarantee democratic outcomes. The forces of tyranny can ride into power on the back of a democratic election, then undermine and corrupt that very same process so as to guarantee their lock on power.

The true test of any democratic election is whether or not a transition of power can take place peacefully and honestly while the institutions of government continue to function.

We’re going to see, for better or worse, if Iraq can accomplish that difficult but essential goal. The Shiite-dominated al-Malaki government has been in power since 2005. With this election, Sunnis in exile and within the country have joined with secular Shiites and Christians to challenge the status quo and to stake their rightful claim to share in the decision-making processes of the central government.

In 2005, we had thousands of troops in Iraq to guarantee an orderly transfer of power to the newly elected parliament and their new prime minister. This time around, we won’t be there in great and powerful numbers to enforce anything of a sort, which is why these coming weeks and months will be perilous.

This time around, Iraqis will be making all the hard but critical decisions and compromises necessary for an orderly realignment of power. If they fail in this test, and power ultimately ends up in the hands of those with the most brute force, then this experiment in Middle Eastern democracy will have failed completely.

If this happens, we will be held accountable.

At GOALS FOR AMERICANS, we call on the Obama administration to apply all the influence at our disposal to insure an honest, peaceful and equitable transfer of power from the former Iraqi government to the new one to come!

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THE IRAQI ELECTIONS 2010

HOPE OR DESPAIR:
The Iraqi Parliamentary Elections Are Now Upon Us

“What will matter most is the acceptance by the Iraqi people of the election results.”

Ad Melkert, U.N. Special Representative to Iraq

Today the first voters go to the polls in Iraq in what many consider to be a make-it-or-break-it time for Iraq’s embattled attempts to move beyond sectarianism and violence.

On Sunday, the majority of the approximately 19 million registered voters will go to one of 50,000 polling places across the country to vote for members of Parliament that now has 325 seats up for grabs. Iraqi exiles will be able to vote as well, and that final tally could be anywhere from 300,000 to 3 million. Approximately 180,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), within the country, driven from their homes because of sectarian warfare within their communities over the past year, will also be voting.

We want to salute the brave men and women of the U.N. ASSISTANCE MISSION FOR IRAQ (UNAMI), especially the Electoral Assistance Office, for the tireless and dedicated work they have done in working with the Iraqi High Electoral Commission to insure a fair, honest and successful election. U.N. Special Representative to Iraq, Ad Melkert, has directed these efforts.

The U.N. is fighting an uphill battle in this effort because this election is essentially under Iraqi control. The U.N. will have 13 teams of poll-watchers – not nearly enough with the thousands of polling places, each mandated to only handle a few hundred local registered voters. The international community will field approximately 600 monitors, and the EUROPEAN UNION will have 126 ‘observers’ in 14 provinces.

The Iraqi political parties and alliances will do their own monitoring. Fraud, abuse, vote-rigging and voter intimidation are expected, but on what scale remains to be seen. Violence has already increased, with the terrible bombings that occurred within the past days, targeting governmental buildings, civilians and voters on Thursday.

U.S. Embassy Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) have assisted the High Electoral Commission in advising and training election workers, in anticipation of this critical parliamentary election cycle. The U.S. military will stand by to assist the Iraqi security forces when help is requested, but our role and flexibility has diminished considerably since the last election. It’s a wait-and-see mission for us right now.

WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE THE 2005 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS?

For better or worse, the political landscape in Iraq has changed dramatically, and this election will be historic in ways that will either be successful or disastrous! Unlike the 2005 parliamentary election, this time the Sunnis will be actively engaged, with their own parties, alliances and candidates. If this election produces a wave of fraud and corruption charges, and Sunnis decide they have been cheated out of their rightful place within the government, the Sunni-led insurgency could be re-ignited in short order, and that would most likely plunge Iraq back into the kind of sectarian warfare that terrorized the country in 2005 and 2006.

The unresolved questions concerning KIRKUK and the disputed northern territories has disrupted the politics of Kurdistan, and greatly increased the tensions between Kurdistan and the Iraqi government. Were it not for U.S. forces in the area, most everyone believes that major clashes would have broken out between Iraqi Arab security forces and Kurdish peshmerga militias. The Kurdish vote will be unpredictable.

The Shiite community is now split down the middle!  Unlike 2005, when the vast majority of Shiites voted for the united alliance that won a majority in parliament and appointed al-Malaki as prime minister, this time they are lining up behind two major alliances and smaller Shiite/Sunni groups. This fracturing will prove to be critical in the coming weeks because it will insure that there are no major winners, and that new alliances must be forged before a functioning government can be formed.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Malaki has split off with his STATE OF LAW party, which is aligned with the Anbar Salvation Front, a Sunni party.

His menacing rival is the NATIONAL IRAQI ALLIANCE, which includes the Badr Brigade, Sadrists, the Islamic Virtue Party (Fadhilah) and the nefarious opportunist, Ahmed Chalabi, the career liar who feed the Bush administration the WMD disinformation that the Bush administration used to justify the war.

The greatest hope for democracy, secularism and sanity in Iraq is the IRAQ NATIONAL MOVEMENT, led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

It is predicted that no alliance will win enough of a parliamentary majority to form a government. The ensuing negotiations and maneuvering will drag out for weeks and weeks if not months, which is just what happened after the 2005 elections. The civil war broke out during those months of governmental paralysis, and it could happen again!

This time, there won’t be thousands of U.S. forces in the cities to insure some degree of security. This time the forces of sectarian violence and intimidation will have free reign to use violence to distort and manipulate the ultimate outcome of the election.

If al-Malaki is rejected as the next prime minister, will he go quietly, or will he resist, thus jumpstarting a Constitutional crisis? Will the security forces back him or remain neutral? Will the Sunnis reject the election results and take up arms again?

This election is a watershed moment for Iraq. Their future begins right now. Will democracy survive, or will sectarian and tribal violence once again rule the day?

Will 2010 be a year of hope for the Iraqi people, or a return to despair?

New Years 2010 Update

MAPPING THE FUTURE OF IRAQ: AUTONOMOUS REGIONS ALLOWED UNDER THE IRAQI CONSTITUTION

As we pointed out in our 2008 PLAN V FOR VICTORY IN IRAQ, the 2005 IRAQ CONSTITUTION provides the option for Provinces to come together to form semi-autonomous REGIONS. The Constitution recognized the existing KURDISTAN REGION as a viable entity, and as such, can sersee thve as a model to emulate.

Kurdistan includes the three Provinces of DAHUK, ARBIL AND SULAYMANIYAH.

The concept of FEDERALISM was incorporated into the political future of Iraq because of the ethno-sectarian violence that was tearing the country apart. The Constitutional writers recognized that the warring factions in Iraq might never reconcile their ethnic, religious and tribal grievances and blood feuds. They provided FEDERALISM as a mechanism to separate these factions to some degree while still maintaining a unified country – the FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF IRAQ.

As we see it in its most basic form, a FEDERAL REPUBLIC would break down into a predominately SUNNI REGION, a SHIA REGION, a MIXED REGION and the existing KURDISTAN. BAGHDAD PROVINCE, with its dense population, could be a REGION in and of itself, with Baghdad City remaining the Iraqi capital.

Why is FEDERALISM so critical right now?

The city of BAGHDAD is the perfect example of why REGIONS must be established, before it is too late.

On Oct. 25, massive suicide car bombs, killing more than 150 and injuring hundreds more, once again shook Baghdad. The Justice Ministry and the Provincial Council Buildings were destroyed as once again, the very heart of the Iraqi government has been targeted. Iraq continues to self-destruct before our eyes!

Until mid-summer, the various factions within the sprawling city were separated by a complicated maze of blast walls and traffic barriers. Al-Malaki started removing these barriers in Aug. as a crass political move to bolster his credentials as the prime minister who brought security to the country.

Shortly afterwards, the latest wave of truck and suicide bombings started up in Baghdad and across the countryside, including the horrific double-truck bombings that destroyed two ministry buildings. Al-Malaki quickly reversed the policy, his reputation seriously damaged as the number of dead and injured dramatically increased.

These latest Oct. bombings will weaken him all the more!

THE GREATER QUESTION THUS BECOMES: As American forces begin to drawn down in earnest, will the ethno-sectarian violence flare up with even greater intensity, laying bare the hollowness of al-Malaki’s security claims?

The terrible bombings that have taken place through Sept. and Oct. indicate to us that Iraq is far from secure, and that the next phase of sectarian civil warfare could already be in motion. The Obama administration must wake up and recognize this terrible possibility as well, and to take actions to head it off.

Two powerful forces are on parallel tracks right now in Iraq: The Jan 2010 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS and the BOMBING AND ASSASSSINATION CAMPAIGN.

Regardless of how the election comes out, and who the next prime minister is, we believe the United States MUST renegotiate the STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT so our troops can remain on hand to deal with an emerging civil war.

The next Parliament MUST move quickly forward with the implementation of FEDERALISM once and for all!

With that in mind, we have taken this opportunity to provide a hypothetical map of THE REGIONS OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF IRAQ. These five regions generally correspond to the main concentrations of SUNNI, SHIITE and MIXED POPULATIONS, as well as recognizing KURDISTAN as the de facto KURDISH REGION.

Like KURDISTAN, these theoretical regions would have the right to establish their own government, judiciary and security forces. And like KURDISTAN, they could have their own regional Constitution as long as it didn’t contradict the national Constitution.

This point is especially critical because Iraq already is facing a CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS in the form of the new KURDISTAN CONSTITUTION, which gives Kurdish courts the right to declare Kurdish Law superior to Iraq Law, if a conflict arises,

The Iraqi Constitution allows for the formation of REGIONS, but it does not mandate it! It is a Constitutional choice and option for like-minded Provinces, should they decide to come together.

We not only see the value in REGIONS, we see the absolute necessity of it!

The national government has abdicated its responsibility to implement FEDERALISM and we must call them on it. Two many critical issues have gone unresolved in Iraq for far too long, and FEDERALISM IS AT THE TOP OF THE LIST.

IF this issue is pushed off until after the election, and then ignored by the new parliament and prime minister, and the evolving civil war reaches critical mass, the possible scenarios are all terrible – for Iraq and us as well.

• As chaos once again grips the countryside, a MILITARY COUP could topple the government and a military leader could assume dictatorial powers.
• A civil war could degenerate into general anarchy, like SOMALIA.
• Neighboring countries could send troops across the borders: Saudi Arabia to defend their fellow Sunnis, Iran to defend their fellow Shiites.  The entire region could plunge into upheaval, with American forces trapped in the middle.
• KURDISTAN could declare full independence and claim the oil fields around KIRKUK as their own, setting off a conflict with Turkey.

OUR MAP OF REGIONS represents the most realistic chance for avoiding a complete breakdown of Iraqi social order. As the recent cycle of bombings demonstrates, Iraqi society is violent and fragile and unstable. And we can clearly see that the more our military pulls back, the worse it gets. The Success of the Surge is falling apart.

We must FIRST suspend the STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT. We must then put all available pressure on the new Iraqi government to move quickly forward with FEDERALISM so these warring factions can separate into secure REGIONS.

OUR MAP OF REGIONS illustrates a peaceful possible future for Iraq.

This map will save Iraq by creating its future, like its glorious past, as the sister city of Babylon that is pictured in the Jan./Feb. 2010 of The National Interest (inside front cover).

With the powerful continued stewardship of Iraq by both America and the UN, we can create Iraq’s new future that will again give it the ancient glory of Baghdad and Babylon.

America and the United Nations must except the continuing partnership and stewardship with and of Iraq for the benefits of their entire population, the harmony of the Middle East – and a model for other countries in the world to follow.

The future belongs to us – but only if we stay together continuously as partners dedicated to the power of human intelligence and cooperation…

Here’s to our mutual success!

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SUCCESS AND TRAGEDY IN IRAQ

THE SUCCESS:

After many weeks of intense sectarian conflict and bitter negotiations, the IRAQI PARLIAMENT has finally approved the long-awaited ELECTION REFORM LAW. These reforms were essential if the 2010 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS were to have any legitimacy.

Without the reforms that have just been incorporated into the new law, the country faced the very real possibility that major ethnigroups would boycott the elections, setting the stage for a renewal of the 2006 civil war.

The elections are now tentatively scheduled for March 6, almost two months behind the original Jan. 12 date. If this schedule does not stand, a CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS will ensue and the current government will automatically dissolve.

The reform law was originally passed in early November, but Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni, vetoed it. He demanded more representation for Sunnis living abroad, which number well over three million. The Kurds in turn demanded more representation for minorities in the disputed Northern Territories around Kirkuk.

The impasse these new demands created lead to intense American and UN involvement to break the deadlock and avoid the Constitutional crisis of a dissolved government.

Without the reform laws, the High Electoral Commission was paralyzed and unable to prepare for the elections. This is not a process that can be rushed to completion, especially without a firm election date to work around.

We know that both President Obama and Vice President Biden got involved by talking directly with Massoud Barzani. The Kurds had two other demands that have been met to their satisfaction – for now.

The Kurds have been pushing for a new census in the Northern Territories – the border regions between Kurdistan and northern Iraq – because they believe it will reflect a greater number of Kurds and Kurdish sympathizers then the 2005 census. They have now been promised a 2010 CENSUS, to be monitored by the UN.

The Kurds will now have 43 seats in Parliament instead of their current 38 seats. The 2010 Parliament will have 325 seats.

And most importantly, Obama and Biden promised the Kurds that the FINAL STATUS OF KIRKUK will be determined in 2010 according to parameters set out in the IRAQI CONSTITUTION.

Our reading of this development is that the FEDERALISM that is offered in the Iraqi Constitution will finally be allowed to play out – that the PROVINCES will be given the opportunity to come together as REGIONS. If this is, in fact, what Obama and Biden have promised the Kurds, then all of our remaining influence will have to be brought into play to force the new government to move forward with FEDERALISM.

The Kurds believe that if given the opportunity under FEDERALISM, Kirkuk Province (At Ta’min Province) will join the existing KURDISTAN REGION, thus giving Kurdistan the complete control over the oil-rich area they have long coveted.

The main obstacle to Federalism has always been the Shia Political Class, because Federalism would dilute the powers of the central government in Baghdad, and Shiites are clearly going to hold onto the majority of Parliamentary seats in the 2010 election, and once again be in a position to appoint the next prime minister. The last thing they are going to do is give up power voluntarily.

We’ve been arguing for years that a SHIA THEOCRACY would attempt to hang onto power, whatever it took.

In this sense, the coming year will be the FINAL SHOWDOWN ON FEDERALISM IN IRAQ. And Obama and Biden must keep their promises and make it happen!

The reform law also calls for OPEN LIST election ballots instead of the CLOSED LIST system that discredited past elections.

THE TRAGEDY

Just as Iraq was celebrating the final approval of the long-awaited Election Reform Law, the country was once again torn apart on Dec. 8th by a series of massive car bombs aimed at government and civilian targets. The new Finance Ministry building was destroyed – the original building having been destroyed in the Aug. 9^th attacks. Also targeted in Baghdad was a complex of federal court buildings as well as the Labor Ministry. Beyond Baghdad, a series of roadside bombs were detonated, killing four American soldiers along with many Iraqi civilians and police officers.

Over 110 people have died from these attacks and hundreds more have been wounded.

Will Iraq ever see an end to this kind of horrific violence? Will every step forward in Iraq be answered with three bloody steps backwards?

The targeting of American patrols with roadside bombs has particularly ominous implications. Are we seeing the beginning of a new insurgency, aimed at us once again?

The thousands of SONS OF IRAQ militiamen have long since become disillusioned with us and our failure to force al-Malaki to make good on his promise to hire them into the security services and our civilian jobs. Could these intentional attacks on our patrols represent the next bloody phase of our entanglement in Iraq’s endless cycles of violence?

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

Sunni terrorists with al-Qaeda connection have claimed responsibility for the Oct. and Dec. bombings with this announcement: “The young men of Islam…set off to target the citadels of evil, the nests of infidelity and the centers of the rejectionist (Shiite) government. We are determined to uproot this government and pull down the pillars and target its points of strength. The list of targets will not end until the banner of one God is once again raised over Baghdad.”

Sadly, this group represents just one aspect of the multi-headed monster that we have come to know as Islamic fundamentalism.  All of the militant Jihadi groups that assemble under this banner – the many heads of the monster – have one thing in common: They all are capable and willing to use deplorable violence to express their beliefs and to advance their campaigns of terror, even against their fellow Moslems.

In the case of this group, they are waging a cowardly truck-bomb war against innocent civilians in order to destabilize the Shiite government – their fellow Moslems.  During the terrible months of 2005/2006, as ethno-sectarian warfare terrorized Iraqi cities, it was Sunni insurgents exterminating Shiites and Shiite death squads and rogue militias exterminating Sunnis and driving them out of entire communities, creating a refugee crisis that lingers to this day.

Radical Islam is a cancer that will destroy Iraq’s fragile democracy if it is not controlled. There are many failures in Iraq today that have contributed to the horrid success of these bombings. First and foremost is the obvious incompetence and corruption within the security services – the very people who time and again allow these bombers access to their targets.

We know that a number of the security people involved in the Oct. targets have been arrested for accepting bribes and allowing the car bombs through the high-security checkpoints to get right up to their targets.

We also know that the Iraqi security services use a worthless bomb-detecting ‘wand’ at their check points – a piece of junk the Iraqi government paid millions for.

Corruption and incompetence in the Iraqi security establishment have created a deplorable vacuum that allows these terrorists to strike at will. And as their statement says, they intend to continue their bombing campaign.

Six years into this war and occupation, Iraq is still plagued from within by the multi-headed monster of Radical Islam. Reconciliation has failed.

It’s not too late for Obama and Biden to assert our still-considerable influence in Iraq.

Regardless of the Iraqi election results, they must be relentless in making FEDERALISM IN IRAQ a reality. It still represents the most realistic and immediate hope for separating the rival ethno-religious factions in Iraq before they destroy the country from within!

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The Solution to the Devastating Iraq Situation

Saving Iraq From Endless Chaos

With America’s Continued Stewardship

By Creating an Iraq Federated Republic

Read our message… See our map!

America’s Continued Stewardship
With a Bold but Realistic Plan

THE WAR WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE: What Is Going Terribly Wrong in Iraq and Why the United States, with the Help of the United Nations, Must Stay the Course

The final sentence in a new book about Iraq reads as follows: “The events for which the Iraq War will be remembered probably have not yet happened.”

Washington Post writer Thomas Ricks, in his new book on Iraq, THE GAMBLE

THE IRAQ WAR IS FAR FROM OVER! DEMOCRACY IS UNDER ATTACK!

The brutal AUGUST 20th and OCTOBER 25th TRUCK BOMBINGS IN BAGHDAD represent a major escalation in the level of violence that has been increasing all summer in Iraq. The attacks against civilian and security targets have continued on a daily basis since that deadly day. More bombings will come as Iraqis once again try to solve their differences with violence.

We could be witnessing the opening rounds of THE FINAL IRAQ CIVIL WAR. Historians will be brutal with us if we do not move quickly to reassert our POWERFUL INFLUENCE in Iraq, to ward off the forces of self-destruction within the country.

WHY WE STILL MATTER

The STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT — SFA — negotiated during the waning months of the Bush administration set a firm timetable for the withdrawal of our armed forces from Iraq by the end of 2011. The Iraqi people must also approve this agreement.

The fragile structure of Iraqi democracy is under attack because THE ENEMIES OF DEMOCRACY in Iraq think we have lost the ability and the desire to CONTROL EVENTS because of the SFA. They think we want out at any cost! They are wrong.

WE STILL MATTER BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT LOST OUR WILL TO WIN!

THE BATTLEGROUND IN IRAQ now centers on the January 2010 Parliamentary elections. THE POLITICAL GANGSTERS who are lining up to solidify a PERMANENT SHIA RULING CLASS in Iraq are fighting among themselves at the moment, but they have one thing in common: They all want to stack the deck in the January elections so that a SHIA MAJORITY wins out over any Sunni or minority coalitions, and they can once again appoint a SHIITE PRIME MINISTER to rule the land!

Their most potent weapon to achieve this odious purpose is to deny Iraqi citizens the right to vote for individual candidates — OPEN LISTS. The existing undemocratic and corrupt elections laws only allow for CLOSED PARTY LISTS, which force citizens to vote for BLOCKS of candidates, which are always RELIGIOUS PARTIES.

At GOALS FOR AMERICANS, we opposed the January 2005 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS as a prescription for disaster, and so it turned out. That election was boycotted by Sunnis, and, because of the seriously flawed “CLOSED PARTY LISTS” system, the SHIA THEOCRACY in Baghdad got its start, and al-Maliki became prime minister. We detailed our opposition in PLAN V, and featured no less an authority than former Iraqi Prime Minister AYAD ALLAWI, who also called for a dramatic change in the ELECTORAL LAWS to allow for “OPEN LISTS.”

The 2009 PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS were much more fair and open because we joined with the United Nations to demand “OPEN LISTING.” But Iraq is now backsliding to the old method, which only will serve the POLITICAL GANGSTERS running Baghdad.

Al-Maliki and his SHIA MAJORITY in Parliament have resisted permanent ELECTORAL REFORM since he came into power in 2005!

If nothing is done to dramatically alter this FRAUDULENT ELECTION PROCESS before the January election, democracy in Iraq will die on that very Election Day!

This is why we absolutely need to alter the STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT (SFA) so that, America, as well as the United Nations, can stay in Iraq to guide this troubled and mixed-up entity to a decent future for all the people living in what is now called Iraq.

WE STILL MATTER IN IRAQ because we still have the LEVERAGE to force the issue … meaning — we must revise the STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT (SFA)! If we don’t, we will deliberately sacrifice all the citizens of Iraq — whom we came to rescue from Saddam Hussein in 2003!

America is a thorn in the side of al-Maliki’s lust for power, and the sooner we lose influence and control, the better for him. It is speculated that al-Maliki will try to put the STATUS OF FORCES REFERENDUM (SFA) on the same January 2010 ballot. If this happens, and a majority of Iraqis reject the SFA, we will be obligated to exit Iraq within a year.

The immediate result of such a rejection will be that our power to control events evaporates. And if such a power vacuum happens, the ENEMIES OF DEMOCRACY in Iraq will most likely stumble into a full-scale civil war in short order. WE MUST STOP THIS NOW!

Al-MALIKI HOPES TO STOKE THE IRRATIONAL EMOTIONS OF NATIONALISM TO DEFEAT THE STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT(SFA) AND FORCE US OUT SOONER.

THIS WOULD AMOUNT TO THE GRAVEST OF ALL INSULTS TO ALL OF THE BRAVE AND GENEROUS-HEARTED AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN WHO WORKED, FOUGHT, AND DIED OR WERE INJURED IN THE SERVICE OF A FREE IRAQ. AL-MALIKI MUST BE STOPPED!

WE STILL MATTER because we have TWO OPTIONS — AND WE MUST USE BOTH! We can NULLIFY the STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT (SFA) ourselves, or we can PREVENT THE REFERENDUM from being added to the January 2010 ballot.

Either way, WE MUST REMAIN IN IRAQ well beyond the JANUARY 2010 ELECTIONS — UNTIL THE JOB IS DONE.

The 2009 SUMMER OF VIOLENCE in Iraq has seriously undermined al-Maliki’s and all other power groups’ claim to power by undermining their blustery claims that Iraq has become a peaceful country under his leadership. The powerful SUPREME IRAQI ISLAMIC COUNCIL is now forming a SHIA COALITION to challenge his DAWA PARTY in January. This represents a train wreck within the SHIA COMMUNITY that does not bode well for a peaceful election season. Al-Maliki will do anything to insure his appointment again as prime minister in January. Shia-against-Shia violence is certain to begin.

We — America and the United Nations — want a Trustee or a Stewardship understanding or relationship set up for the benefit of all the citizens of Iraq. We present this solution with the new Iraq Federated Republic shown here.

America and the United Nations will pledge an ongoing and overriding leadership role for the benefit of all people living now in the failed state of Iraq.

HERE WE ARE, SIX YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF SADDAM HUSSEIN, AND THE RIVAL TRIBES AND RELIGIOUS PARTIES IN IRAQ STILL EMPLOY VIOLENCE AND FEAR TO SECURE POWER.

WE STILL MATTER because we are all that stands between ORDER and CHAOS in Iraq. The rational, secular and truly democratic forces in Iraq understand this, and they are terrified at the prospect that we will be forced to exit in 2010, if the STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT (SFA) gets rejected.

BUT THEIR NUMBERS ARE SMALL AND THEIR INFLUENCE IS WEAK. WE MUST CHAMPION ALL OF THEM – FOR THE SAKE OF ALL OF THE CITIZENS OF IRAQ.

THE POWERS AT OUR FINGERTIPS — With the backing of the United Nations – which allows America to champion this plan … for the sake of sanity, justice, and humanity and for the sake and honor of America’s armed forces who have paid the heaviest price imaginable to bring us to this dreadful position!

This is not a time for weakness or politics or scheming self-serving individuals!

For the sake of all that is true and right – basic justice and humanity require that America and the United Nations join forces to work with the government of Iraq for the future benefit of Iraq’s total population.

With or without the STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT (SFA), we have powerful weapons at our disposal to force al-Maliki’s government and the Parliament to DO THE RIGHT THING for the Iraqi people. Our influence can be asserted immediately!

	We still provide massive amounts of funding to Iraq, and we can TURN IT OFF!
	WE COULD shut down the substantial flow of RECONSTRUCTION FUNDS.
	WE COULD withdraw all of our RECONSTRUCTION WORKERS AND ADVISORS.
	WE COULD shut off the flow of weapons, ammunition and logistical support to their military and security services.
	WE COULD suspend all joint urban military operations with their security services.
	WE COULD suspend all training and tactical support for the security services.
	WE COULD withdraw from the dangerous northern border region.
	WE COULD recognize KURDISTAN’S NEW CONSTITUTION.

HERE’S HOW:

	WE STILL MATTER because this war is not over, we still have 130,000 troops in Iraq, we still finance a great deal of what happens, the Iraqi security services are incapable of keeping the peace without us, Kurdistan remains calm as long as we’re in the picture, and the international community recognizes the legitimacy of Iraq only as long as we’re involved.
	And WE STILL MATTER because America does not run from its responsibilities.
	WE WILL HONOR our courageous men and women in uniform by getting this job done, no matter how long it takes, no matter how long we must remain in Iraq!
	WE’RE IN THIS FOR THE LONG HAUL! The United Nations MUST BE OUR PARTNER!

IRAQ IS THE WAR WE CANNOT AND WILL NOT LOSE!

And now! …Finally the Right Solution…

an entirely new concept to save the present failed structure of Iraq…

THE IRAQ FEDERATED REPUBLIC

Read on for the ultimate governmental solution for the future of Iraq!

And NOW President Obama Must Make this Happen!

FINALLY THE RIGHT SOLUTION:
THE IRAQ FEDERATED REPUBLIC
At GOALS FOR AMERICANS, we have argued forcefully and passionately for the FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF IRAQ. We provided the historical perspective and current realities in Iraq to justify our vision called PLAN V For Peace and Victory In Iraq, which we issued in Jan. 2008.

We believed that the FEDERALISM enshrined within the 2005 Iraqi Constitution represented the only hope for keeping Iraq together, while also allowing the warring ethno-sectarian factions enough autonomy from one another to enable them all to co-exist, and hopefully co-prosper in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

This was our cautiously optimistic opinion back then! It is still our opinion today!

WE ARE NOW ADVOCATING THE PEACEFUL DIVISION OF IRAQ INTO FIVE INDEPENDENT REGIONS OR PROVINCES – NORTHERN, WESTERN, CENTRAL, SOUTHERN, AND CAPITAL REGIONS – TO COME TOGETHER IN THEIR CAPITAL CITY OF BAGHDAD!

The sobering reality of the indisputable and incompatible differences between these factions in Iraq has forced us to come to a new conclusion. While most of America turns away from Iraq and concentrates on Afghanistan, we have held our attention on this unfinished war, and what we see and understand about Iraq this summer does not bode well for a sustainable peaceful outcome – Unless we make this change and America and the U.N. can become the overriding Stewards of Iraq… to work in concert with Iraq’s own parliament.

The very problems that now threaten to blow Iraq apart at the seams are the very same unresolved problems we outlined in detail in PLAN V. Let us not delude ourselves or the citizens of Iraq any longer.

Like a gathering storm, these problems will overwhelm Iraq and plunge it back into sectarian, ethnic and tribal chaos if drastic changes are not made.

THE ESSENTIAL UNRESOLVED PROBLEMS WE ALL RECOGNIZE – THE FOUNDATIONS OF FAILURE

#1 THE FAILURE OF ELECTORAL REFORM:

The Iraqi Constitution was thrown together in 2005, and one of the major flaws was the Election Laws that made it impossible for individual citizens to vote for candidates in their own right. Iraqis were forced by law to vote for or against lengthy slates of candidates that were all grouped together. And invariably these slates were religious or tribal in origin.

A secular democratic country cannot survive when elections are buried under the suffocating weight of religious affiliations. After two major flawed elections, Iraq still refuses to embrace the concept of THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE, or even the concept of THE SEPARATION OF TRIBE AND STATE.

A SHIA THEOCRACY is beginning to form in Baghdad and that will kill forever whatever semblance of democracy Iraq still has.

The al-Makaki government recently asked Parliament to legalize drastic new censorship laws. What more proof do we need?

#2 THE FAILURE OF RECONCILIATION:

After six chaotic and deadly years of ethno-sectarian violence, Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds still put their tribal and religious loyalties above the good of the country. A lasting unity of purpose and identity within any population is impossible under these circumstances. Iraq is failing itself!

As former U.S. Representative Lee Hamilton so correctly put it in PLAN V : “If the Iraqis do not reconcile, all the troops in the world will not provide security

In the West, we continuously fail to understand the concept of religious vengeance and tribal grievances and what powerful and destructive forces they can be within a society – especially a society that has been traumatized by a brutal dictator who played ethnic factions against one another. We fail to understand that in the Middle East, angry memories and blood grievances last forever, The obsession for tribal or religious revenge is a passion that never dies.

The blood feud between the Shia and the Sunnis goes all the back to the treacherous days after WW1 when England and France forced their will on the provinces of the defeated Ottoman Empire in Mesopotamia and created the artificial country we call Iraq. So, too, does the animosity between non-Arab Kurds in the northern mountain provinces and the secular Arabs in the south, Sunnis and Shiites. Iraq was pasted together from the ashes of the defeated Ottoman Empire. It has never been a legitimate country.

This misbegotten creation of a country never developed a true identity throughout the 20^th century. It’s varied religious and ethnic populations never came together as Iraqis – as equal citizens under one flag with a common unifying loyalty.

Our great conceit was in thinking we could ignore this history of perpetual antagonisms and hostilities between Iraq’s competing factions and simply invade the country and create a functioning democracy in short order. Our ignorance of the history of these people blinded us to the impossibility of our ambitions for Iraq.

A MIRACLE OF RECONCILATION IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN IN IRAQ NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE WISH IT TO BE!

Knocking down the statue of Saddam Hussein in downtown Baghdad didn’t make it so, nor has throwing millions of dollars of reconstruction money all over the place for the past few years.

Vice President Dick Cheney, in his “infinite oversight”, told us before the invasion began that we would be greeted as liberators. Instead of that outcome, Shiites and Sunnis alike launched insurgencies against our military forces and attacked and killed many of our civilian reconstruction workers. They blew up the UN headquarters in Baghdad, killing Sergio de Mello, the top UN envoy in Iraq, along with many other dedicated UN diplomats. This bombing in the early months of our occupation was a cowardly act that foreshadowed the carnage and violence of the years to come.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz told us that Iraqi oil would pay for the war and reconstruction. Instead of that outcome, we have already spent almost 700 billion dollars on the war and occupation with no end in sight.


After the invasion, when resistance against our forces continued, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told us that it was just the work of a few “dead-enders.” Instead of that outcome, a lethal insurgency killed almost 4500 of our soldiers and seriously injured many thousands more over the past six years. They attacked the Green Zone with rockets, shot down our military helicopters, terrorized the roads with IEDs, and brutalized their fellow citizens.


And finally, there was the ultimate demonstration of ignorance and arrogance, as President Bush stood on the aircraft carrier deck in front of a huge banner that read “Mission Accomplished.”


Instead of that outcome, we sank deeper and deeper into the quicksand pit of Iraq, battling a lethal insurgency while Iraqis went about the terrible business of killing one another. Bush left office six years later, handing his “Unaccomplished War” over to President Obama. Bush handed over a war without end!

THE FAILURE TO CREATE OIL LAWS – JUSTICE DENIED!

The central government has had six years to insure that the revenue from Iraq’s great oil wealth will be distributed evenly and honorably among all the citizens, not just those who control the Oil Ministry or surround the oil and natural gas fields. They have failed to do so.

As a result, Kurdistan has already taken steps to lay claim to the oil-rich Kirkuk Province (At At’min) and city of Kirkuk, and they have long since started negotiations with international firms for exploration and development contracts, without permission from the central government in Iraq.


Recently, al-Malaki attempted the same thing, in a failed attempt to extort outrageous concessions from the oil firms.

This demonstrates to us that the Iraqi government is incapable and unwilling to do what’s best for the whole country. The Kurds are doing what’s best for them while al-Malaki is trying to solidify his Shia dominance by negotiating oil exploration contracts by fiat.

The Iraqi Parliament has demonstrated neither the guts nor the vision to legislate OIL REVENUE SHARING LAWS. Iraq will never move in the direction of lasting unity without a fair and honest distribution of the oil and gas wealth.

Their failure to do this will doom the naive notion of Iraqi unity!

	INDEPENDENCE…
	AND THEN AN IRAQ FEDERATED REPUBLIC!

At GOALS FOR AMERICANS, we have come to the conclusion that the religious and ethnic makeup of Iraq is too fractured and too mired in ancient tribal hostilities to ever hold together on its own.

We have concluded that it is in the best interests of everyone that Iraq be peacefully divided into FIVE SEPARATE REGIONS (OR STATES) that reflect the five most harmonious groupings of the various populations and resources in Iraq. The borders of these regions (states) of course follow the various boundaries of the existing 18 provinces divided, also, with regard to resources and historical considerations.

WE HAVE ALREADY DONE THIS IN OUR PLAN V !

The Iraqis can not be trusted to work together for the common good of all their citizens!

THE BAGHDAD BOMBINGS ON AUG 20 SHOULD BE OUR WAKE UP CALL. TIME IS RUNNING SHORT. IT IS TIME TO WORK TOWARDS THE PEACEFUL ARRANGEMENT OF IRAQ INTO FIVE REGIONS, EACH ONE MADE UP OF EXISTING PROVINCES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE IRAQ CONSTITUTION.

OBAMA MUST support this promissing concept that can definitely create the much needed democratic arrangement of its existing 18 provinces into a most harmoneous grouping of States for the new Republic.

AMERICA & UNITED NATIONS MUST BECOME STEWARDS OF THE NEW IRAQ FEDERATED REPUBLIC UNTIL THEY CAN STAND ALONE!

IT IS THEIR ONLY HOPE — IT IS THEIR VERY BEST OPTION!

WHERE WE NOW STAND IN IRAQ!
The most dangerous aspect of the Iraq war is that the American public is not paying attention, and when the public loses interest, so does our leader.

THIS WAR IS NOT OVER! When Vice President Joe Biden was recently in Iraq, meeting with top Iraqi and Kurdish representatives, rockets and mortar shells landed in the fortified Green Zone two days in a row, killing and injuring civilians.

Is anybody paying attention?

At GOALS FOR AMERICANS, we’ve been doing more than just paying attention. We’ve been offering thoughtful and bold advice since the beginning of this misbegotten War, and we are continuing that tradition with these ideas.

We have to stop deluding ourselves! Many of our fellow citizens think we can simply pull up stakes and get out of Iraq because the so-called “Surge” dramatically lowered the number of American casualties – a wonderful outcome we all celebrated.

A substantial drop in American casualties is one thing, but sustainable peace and prosperity in Iraq is an entirely different matter.

While Americans turn away from Iraq, Iraq smolders.

►We appealed to Bush not to attack in 2003!
►We promoted an Iraq Federated Republic Idea in 2006!
►We developed Plan V. and sent it to the Bush Whitehouse and all of Congress in 2008!

None of this was implemented by the past administration!

Our new Administration with President Obama and VP Biden at the lead must now DO SOMETHING!

HERE’S THE PLAN–

THIS WAR IS NOT OVER!

At GOALS FOR AMERICANS, we are sounding the alarm; our commitment in Iraq is far from over. Democracy in Iraq is being strangled to death by primitive tribalism and religious extremism.

We are now calling for The Iraq Federated Republic, including five provinces or regions–made by appropriate arrangement of their 18 provinces.

The rocket fire that landed less than a mile from Vice President Biden is all the proof we need! Six years after the war and occupation began, our people are still in mortal danger in Iraq, even within the walls of the most secure area in the entire country.

This demonstrates to us that victory in Iraq is still a dangerous mirage.

The Obama administration MUST support General Odierno to the hilt and reclaim the high ground and move forcefully to alter events in Iraq while we still have leverage.

If we stand back and watch Iraq self-destruct, then we will be as much to blame as the Iraqis themselves.

If we let Iraq slide into civil war, all of our terrible losses will have been in vain, as well as the loss of so many brave Iraqis who joined us in heart and spirit.

For Maliki’s sake and for his support we must initiate and create the new Iraq Federated Republic.

THIS WAR IS NOT OVER, NOR IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY!

Stay with us

Both you and we owe it to our country to make this happen

Write and email President Obama plus your Congressman or Senator

Most important… Let us here from you

Now look at the muddled
history of the Middle East

The Chaotic History of the Middle East

After you watch the following animation, you will see that Iraq never was a country until it was cobbled together by Europeans (as were the other Middle Eastern countries) in 1920 after World War I. The history of the Middle East includes conquest after conquest as different dictatorships took over the rule of Middle Eastern countries. Just to name a few, the conquering Empires include the Kingdom of Egypt in 3000 BC, the Persian Empire in 336 BC, the Roman Empire in 565 AD, the Crusades in 1187 AD, the Mongolian Empire in 1700 AD, the Ottoman Empire in 1912, and the European Colonialism that made the geographical mistakes in 1920. Now, in 2009, the United States and its allies are in their 6th year of war to force a multi-faceted set of Middle Eastern cultures into one country with Western ideals. It is as absurd as if some Middle Eastern government came over to North America and demanded that Canada, Mexico, and the United States become one big country just to simplify the drawing of maps.

We wish to thank Maps of War for their wonderful animation on the constantly changing empires of the Middle East.

ANNOUNCING In July, Goals for Americans launched its Idea Center website to create an information hub and forum for new and innovative ideas. We’ll discuss world affairs, the environment, and topics that will ultimately shape the future. JOIN US to lend your ideas and contribute to the discussion!

PALESTINE REBORN View and Download Our Wall Map! Order Your Free Copy

View plan or download and view the complete publication (48 pg. PDF).

The Chaotic History of the Middle East

After you watch the following animation, you will see that Iraq never was a country until it was cobbled together by Europeans (as were the other Middle Eastern countries) in 1920 after World War I. The history of the Middle East includes conquest after conquest as different dictatorships took over the rule of Middle Eastern countries. Just to name a few, the conquering Empires include the Kingdom of Egypt in 3000 BC, the Persian Empire in 336 BC, the Roman Empire in 565 AD, the Crusades in 1187 AD, the Mongolian Empire in 1700 AD, the Ottoman Empire in 1912, and the European Colonialism that made the geographical mistakes in 1920. Now, in 2009, the United States and its allies are in their 6th year of war to force a multi-faceted set of Middle Eastern cultures into one country with Western ideals. It is as absurd as if some Middle Eastern government came over to North America and demanded that Canada, Mexico, and the United States become one big country just to simplify the drawing of maps.

We wish to thank Maps of War for their wonderful animation on the constantly changing empires of the Middle East.

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Vice President Biden must implement this new plan – which is the only possible way to save the citizens of present Iraq from endless chaos, murder and destruction.

Read more…

HERE IT IS!

We need your input…

The Origin and the Essence of Plan V
by Goals for Americans Foundation

• Our Commitment
• Dedication
• Our Appreciation
• Victory and Peace in Iraq: Introduction by Paul Flum – plus Lawrence of Arabia and Iraq’s History
  
• Plan V for Victory and Peace in Iraq – The plan itself (with maps & charts)
• Paul Flum’s Letter to President Bush
• The Fraudulent Election
• Our History of trying to save Iraq from disaster from 1991-2008 (pages 26-27 within full publication)

6 Additional Pillars of Wisdom for Iraq

Voices Worth Hearing and Featured Experts

• Senator Joe Biden on “FEDERALISM” – [additional articles]
• Iraq Defense Minister Ali Allawi (PDF) on “SECULARISM” – [additional articles]
• Gareth Stansfield (PDF) on “REALITY”, England’s top expert on Iraq – [additional articles]
• Anthony Cordesman on “ACTION”, one of America’s top experts – [additional articles]
• Pauline Baker: “A Way Out: The Union of Iraqi States” – [additional articles]
• Lee Hamilton on “RECONCILIATION”: The Iraq Study Group – [additional articles]

Other Vital Features

• The Invisible Refugee Crisis
• The Crumbling Pillar of Hegemony: The Role of the Neocons
• Our American Pillar of Honor Wisdom and Purpose
• Introducing the “All American Party™”

All Interviews and Transcripts

• Pauline Baker, Gareth Stansfield, Ali Allawi

Critical Issues

• Oil at the Center of the Storm
• De-Baathification: The Origins of Failure

Iraq Timeline (PDF)