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| Biden: Split Iraq Into 3 Different Regions |
| 2006-05-01 |
| The senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee proposed Monday that Iraq be divided into three separate regions — Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni — with a central government in Baghdad. In an op-ed essay in Monday's edition of The New York Times, Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., wrote that the idea "is to maintain a united Iraq by decentralizing it, giving each ethno-religious group ... room to run its own affairs, while leaving the central government in charge of common interests." The new Iraqi constitution allows for establishment of self-governing regions. But that was one of the reasons the Sunnis opposed the constitution and why they demanded and won an agreement to review it this year. Biden and co-writer Leslie H. Gelb, former president of the Council on Foreign Relations, acknowledged the opposition, and said the Sunnis "have to be given money to make their oil-poor region viable. The Constitution must be amended to guarantee Sunni areas 20 percent (approximately their proportion of the population) of all revenues." Biden and Gelb also wrote that President Bush "must direct the military to design a plan for withdrawing and redeploying our troops from Iraq by 2008 (while providing for a small but effective residual force to combat terrorists and keep the neighbors honest)." In their essay Monday, Biden and Gelb wrote: "It is increasingly clear that President Bush does not have a strategy for victory in Iraq. Rather, he hopes to prevent defeat and pass the problem along to his successor." The democrats have been screaming that Iraq is a US "puppet state" long enough to both believe it, and to want to *treat* Iraq like a puppet state. They just can't imagine that the US would do something *good*, like encouraging the Iraqis to run their own affairs. Because the US is an evil empire, and all. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #13 Once Dubya takes care, or mostly takes care, of Iran + North Korea-Taiwan, i.e. where the nukes are, all any Dem? successor to Dubya will have left is the African Union, where the nukes are not. Its pretty much a given that Chavez, etal. will be appeased under a Dem POTUS. DON'T THINK IT'LL GET THAT FAR, THOUGH, AS I BELIEVE THE RINO CINO AGENDA-LESS DEMS CAN'T TAKE THE CHANCE OF A ANOTHER GOP SUCCESSOR TO DUBYA IN 2008. The Clinton-led Dems need American Hiroshima(s) and foreign policy failures in Dubya's last term like a thirsty man lost in the desert needs water. IFF 3000 CAN DIE ON 9-11 FOR OWG AND SOCIALISM, WHAT ANOTHER 3000-plus FOR 2008, to ensure the rise of anti-sovereign, anti-American American Socialism!? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-05-01 21:58 |
| #12 The best thing we did was not to divide Iraq into three. This way they have to learn to share power/ It doesn't surprise me that the Democrats suddenly NOW want to divide it in three. Now that the country is functioning as a whole. They just don't want it to succeed because they are petty and small and fear Bush getting credit. Just one more thing them to wank about how he's not doing it right. Also - the Dem's foreign paymasters probably don't want a united Iraq - with a well trained army - run by a country with power shared between Kurds, Shia and Sunni. Turkey and Iran have a much better shot at invading "Kurdistan" and getting the oil fields than they do a United Iraq. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-05-01 19:23 |
| #11 "giving each ethno-religious group ... room to run its own affairs" Biden is scarier than Gore and Dean. I'd vote for Hillary first. He's encouraging sectarianism and inviting an all-out bloodbath. Creating chaos is even right out of Ahmadinejad's playbook. To solve our illegal immigration problem, he'd give California, Arizona, and Texas to Mexico, the Northwest to China, Florida to Cuba, while exploiting cheap labor and resources and banking off-shore. These hypocritical and elitest liberals keep profitting, living well enough to not worry about personal conservation or frugality as they jet around from one mansion to the next, criticing Bush. "leaving the central government in charge of common interests." And, oh yeah, the Iraqis cannot be trusted to oversee all of their affairs, so we'll make sure an international committee will be established to administer the finances to each region, with a cut for UN...to be fair to all, you know. They need to really live in the world they are creating, instead of insulating themselves away from the harsher realities they expect us to put up with. These liberal ideas will be the death of us all. Pro-immigration supporters need to spend the week-end in the barrio. Kerry and Gore aren't concerned about $3 gas and Biden is apparently unconcerned if the whole region is destabilized by hare-brained schemes to pull out and divide Iraq. The more I rant, the more p-o'd I get at those partisan politicians promoting what I feel is dangerously close to traitorous behavior. How do these guys ever get elected by thinking people? |
| Posted by: Danielle 2006-05-01 17:45 |
| #10 Well when you dont get your civil war that you dream of to slam that evil Bush guy try to do all you can to get the administration to do things that would garantee just such a senerio. Biden is a idiot all the mixed cities like Bahgdad, Kirkuk, Sammara, and many many more would overnight suddenly see true ethnic cleansing which would quickly lead to all out civil war between the three to determine the borders. The Dems have 0 ability to run this nations foreign policy and thats not even getting into the fact that you cant make the big hard decisions on how the recent polls say about a issue. |
| Posted by: C-Low 2006-05-01 14:17 |
| #9 If you get him on TV, Biden will say anything you want him to say. Chris Matthews, especially. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2006-05-01 13:54 |
| #8 Iraq must stay as a united state. Now Pakistan.... Hmmmmmm. |
| Posted by: closedanger 2006-05-01 13:15 |
| #7 at least he acknowledged a "co-writer" this time. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-05-01 11:25 |
| #6 Where did Sen. Biden read this? |
| Posted by: Xbalanke 2006-05-01 11:17 |
| #5 Joe Biden: Democrat, NYT-editor wannabe, Iraqi civil war facilitator, Sunni Arab welfare advocate, self-presumed boss of the Commander in Chief, Bush-basher -- and these are just a few of the things he has in common with Ted "Chappaquiddick" Kennedy, John "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it" Kerry, Al "I took the initiative in creating the Internet" Gore, and Hillary "The American people are tired of liars and people who pretend to be something they're not" Clinton. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2006-05-01 10:24 |
| #4 Aren't we going to destroy Iran anyhow? |
| Posted by: Hupailing Ebbuns2352 2006-05-01 10:15 |
| #3 I presume count on the Iraqi nationalism of most Shia Iraqis, and continue to support them, and the Baghdad govt against Sadr. IOW, not really an different than the Bush admins, AFAICT. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2006-05-01 10:09 |
| #2 Biden is a moron. What's his strategy for preventing Iran from taking over the Shiia south? |
| Posted by: Perfesser 2006-05-01 10:04 |
| #1 I dont think Joe Biden has ever screamed that Iraq is a US puppet state. Clearly we do have some influence on Iraqi constitutional negotiations. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2006-05-01 10:03 |