Hillary's End The War Plan

Senator Hillary Clinton adroitly reinforced her foreign policy credentials on Monday with a speech at George Washington University in which she outlined how she would end the Iraq war and withdraw US troops. Her address provided the most comprehensive, reality-based and practical-minded set of steps that so far anybody in the presidential race has yet given for a serious exit strategy from Iraq. On taking over the presidency in January 2009, she says she will instruct the Joint Chiefs of Staff to draw up a plan for withdrawal to start within sixty days of her inauguration; she will next convene a regional stabilization group composed of states bordering Iraq, major US allies and other global powers to find an agreement on how to support a durable Iraqi state -- a long overdue proposal, first put forward by another Democratic presidential nominee, Senator John Kerry, in the 2004 race; and she will ask the most important multilateral organization on the planet, the United Nations, for its involvement as a "neutral, honest broker" to forge political reconciliation in Iraq. These, along with a number of other steps, are specific, detailed and intelligent approaches to the end-game in Iraq and strengthen her claim to be the most prepared among the candidates for settling this tragic war.

Comments

[arthuride]

Hillary is the only candidate who would end the war and its atrocities rapidly. Obama will dwaddle, and McCain will continue to persecute the Iraqis for a minimum of another ten years.

[mjc]

This isn't the first time that Hillary Clinton has proposed a detailed plan for exiting Iraq. Months ago, in one of the debates, she outlined a 5 step plan for leaving Iraq and taking care that the allies of the US were protected as we leave. As she proposed recently, it would involve withdrawing a few brigades a month. Obama and Edwards were never proposing anything more than leaving Iraq within 60 days. Period. And Obama has just recently gotten on the bandwagon suggesting a more orderly withdrawal. Obama is clearly not ready to deal with the real problems of this nation; what he is prepared for is to borrow anyone else's plan once it becomes clear that a plan is necessary.

[Doofus]

These plans are not exactly a dime-a-dozen, but they are out there on the 'Net for anyone to read.

http://www.comw.org/pda/0512exitplans.html#experts

The trick will be to pick one that would actually work AND then implement it, in the face of fierce opposition (here, there & almost everywhere).

[Doofus]

If Hillary Clinton (or Barack Obama) were to select a VP candidate who would be dedicated to managing the end of the War, focused on only that, then maybe she'd have something for US. Jim Webb, maybe. Otherwise, what she's offering seems mostly hot (actually, warmed-over) air.

[S1m0n]

And in her spare time, she will sketch out a solution to the search for physics' Grand Unified Theory, cure Cancer, Alzheimer Disease (and six other dementias) and the Heartbreak of Psoriasis., announce her way more concise solution to Fermat's last theorem, and become the First Woman to win the Masters and the First Woman on the Moon.

[dzho]

Bringing our troops home requires a two-stage plan:

1. Get on a plane.
2. Fly west.

Wake me up when somebody gives the order.

[candlegravity]

Stephen, nothing new with this plan at all. In fact it's nearly word for word exactly what Obama and Edwards have said. So far, I haven't heard what you call "comprehensive" from any of the candidates. They have all said that upon taking office they would convene the joint chiefs of staff and tell them to draw up a withdraw plan. Absolutely nothing new here at all. Have you been on this planet for the last 6 months?

[LizM]

You have not been listening to Senator Biden. Pay attention - the future of America depends on it ... I shit you not!

Cheers!

[candlegravity]

Haha, but Mr. Biden is no longer in the race my friend. But I stand corrected, he had a relatively detailed plan.

[LizM]

I guess you have never heard of Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. Because, if you knew that the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee is also the undisputed leader among Democrats on all issues pertaining to foreign policy/national security and that his credentials in these areas are impeccable, unimpeachable and wholly unmatched by any of his presidential rivals, of either party, then you may have thought twice about writing such a post as this.

If you also knew that the Biden strategy for ending the civil war in Iraq is the ONLY viable and comprehensive strategy for promoting and facilitating (NOT imposing or dictating) a political settlement in Iraq based on federalism and the Iraqi constitution (NOT partition) and that is has attracted support from all corners - including a majority of Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress, the permanent members of the UN Security Council, most of the sectarian leaders in Iraq, and even Turkey is on board with the essential elements - then you would have discarded this post all together in favor of one explaining why this strategy has not yet been implemented and what in the Hell we have to do to insure that it is!

Unfortunately, NONE of the remaining presidential candidates - including the presumptive Republican nominee - have demonstrated that they understand the first thing about what will be required to end the civil war in Iraq and allow for a responsible withdrawal of US forces without leaving a failed state behind.

[Doofus]

'Senator Hillary Clinton adroitly reinforced her ... claim to be the most prepared among the candidates for settling this tragic war.'

Yep. Very adroit. Recycling the 2004 Kerry plan is a master stroke. Anyway, her speech is at

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=6552

[Doofus]

Not the speech exactly, but high level *details* anyway.

[PingMama]

Pardon me for sounding gender biased, but would middle eastern leaders take her seriously since women are inferior to men?

[GnitenGoodLk]

Yes. They would. She'd be the leader of the free world. But like they did after dealing with Margaret Thatcher, they would make their own women at home pay for it.

[Merlin7]

Hillary's idealistic plan would take about 20 years to implement, give or take a few decades. So . . . in November we can vote for a Republican and stay bogged down in Iraq, or vote for Hillary and stay bogged down in Iraq or, if he gets the nomination, vote for Obama and . . . yes, stay bogged down in Iraq because he wouldn't be able to overcome the hawkish national security bureaucracy either.
See how it works? And yet we still bother to go to the polls and vote. That makes us either sweetly naive or just stupid.

[SCharb]

HRC's end the war plan: first, build a time machine...

[clevelandchick]

Boy, it would have much better if she hadn't gone along with "The Start The War Plan" to begin with. Look at what her vote has done. Outside of all of the death, destruction and increase in terrorism, the Iraq Invasion and Occupation is directly related to our economic woes:

http://www.currencytrading.net/2007/20-hidden-ways-the-iraq-war-is-affecting-the-us-dollar/

She knew better. She voted for it. She could have showed some leadership, spoke out against it or at least voted for the Levin Amendment. She didn't. She wanted to run for president someday.

I'm sorry, I just don't trust her to do the right thing as far as Iraq is concerned. If somehow she is told by one of her consultants that ending it would affect her chances of reelection, if by some miracle she got the Nom and beat McCain, she wouldn't do it.

[WASanford]

The authorization to use force in Iraq passed the Senate 77-23. If she had voted against it we would still be in Iraq! Getting us out of the quagmire is the thing to do now. At least one of our candidates understands that.

[Clinton]

Too little, too late. HRC isn't credible in any event, we've still not received a reasonable explanation for why she was caught up in the war hysteria to begin with. HRC is merely pandering, the likely scenario is that she'd continue the war to benefit the war machine for the purpose of gaining more political support and/or money. Of course there would be plenty of excuses, there always are, but troops and civilians would keep dying while we, the public, would continue to hear a litany of HRC victim talk.

[DoninJoisey]

What foreign policy credentials? The credentials that caused her to vote for invading Iraq?

Her vote, that she still defends? She is a hologram.

[LoRiseAntlers]

And,tp date,that is the only foreign policy record she factually has,plane trips with Sinbad and hanging out in Ireland don't count,no matter how many Clintonistas scream and shout about her imaginary "experience".

[rwoodsathome]

I listened to her speech how she was going to bring Iraq, Iran, Syria - might as well throw in Hezbolah to make a quorum - to decide on Iraq's future. Isn't that nice. I'd like to be a fly on the wall for that meeting, just to listen to her screech at these guys while they laughed in her face.

Every savy negotiator understands that both sides must want to negotiate for a successful negotiation. And why would these people negotiate when she is telling everyone we are pulling out no matter what the outcome?

If I were an Iraqi, I don't know how pleased I would be to have some of the most barbaric regimes of the 21st century deciding on my destiny. Thanks, but no thanks.

And what would Miss Hillary do when an Al Queda suicide bomber blows up a heavily trafficked marketplace during this conference? Blame it on Bush? Probably - and then just sacrifice every good citizen of Iraq by withdrawing our troops.

[jhamm1]

This may come as a surprise to you Schleisinger but "specific and detailed" does not a successful plan make, and HIllary has therefore reinforced nothing in terms of foreign policy experience she has yet to prove.

[trevor01]

Getting out of Iraq without leaving untold misery behind will take a miracle. But I know, if any leader can do it, it will be Hillary Clinton.

[LizM]

Now, THAT was funny!