A New Government Needs New American Policies

12/16/2005

Paul Munnis

Even as votes are being counted in the Iraqi election, it is time for the Bush Administration to do a few key things.

First, there should be a Congressional Bill passed that declares that America is at peace and not at war with the nation of Iraq. The Bill should clarify our position and give assurances that upon request of the Iraqi government, the U.S. will act in a positive manner to support development of the new Iraqi government.

Some sort of ceremonial activity should occur in Washington to make this a visible point and it should include testimonial to the sacrifices made by the U.S. military for freedom in the mid-east.

This would clear the air that the people of America are not at war with the government or the people of Iraq and make the point that a major shift is American forign policy is underway.

A similar Bill is needed to assure the people of Afghanistan that America is not at war with their nation either.

Another thing that is needed is for President Bush to admit that the Patriot Act is no longer needed since we are no longer at War.

A major opportunity exists to announce that prisoners are being sorted into two sets. Those who will be released and those who will be arraigned for a prompt trial on war crimes. The arraignments then need to be done swiftly and surely and a prompt trial gven to those held over and with swift disposition of their case.

A good way for Mr. Bush to diffuse the upcoming outrage over his permission to NSA to spy on American citizens is to say that now that we are no longer at War in Afghanistan or Iraq then all spying on U.S. citizens must cease and desist. A visible and robust action to assure a return to American liberty would be a good move by the Administration.

A visible attempt to end the violence in Iraq is also needed and a good way to do this would be for America to decrease our visibility in Iraq except as policing efforts require us be present. A good way to do this would be to reorganize so that American forces are pulled out to an adjacent nation such as Kuwait and garrisoned there.

The reorganization of the U.S. military into a rapid response strike force should then follow, a force that can be delivered to a troubled location en masse and via helicopter airlift. This would make it clear that we are no longer aggressors and we are no longer at war but that we are in reserve to assist Iraqi forces to help them to assure the peace.

A diplomatic visit to Iran assuring the Iranians that we respect their nation and their borders would aslo be astute.

If Mr. Bush seeks peace with Americans then he needs to work at using this historic opportunity to craft a positive set of foreign policy goals and not assume a negative and aggressive posture. A replacement for the American First Strike foreign policy would also be a wise announcement to make.

When making these announcements Mr. Bush should also state that he is in disagreement with Ariel Sharon over the building of settlements in Gaza and that the U.S. military strike force headquartered in Kuwait will be used to help assure peace between Israel and Palestine.

This is a historic opportunity for America in the Mid-east and we pray that Mr. Bush doesn’t blow it.